HuniePop: Space Adventures
by MarioandSonicFan19
Summary: Roughly a year after their little vacation to Inna De Poona, Max and Nikki have been invited by their alien friend, Celeste, to help her with her job as a galactic enforcer alongside her team. But as time wears on, the couple discovers that the universe is bigger than they thought and discover a threat to, not only their home, but to the entire galaxy
1. Chapter 1: So It Begins

HuniePop: Space Adventures

Chapter 1: So It Begins

**Warning! This series WILL contain spoilers to the HuniePop 2 arc which has not yet been released, so read at your own risk!**

Ever feel like there was something you were missing in your life that you wish you could find? Well, it's possible to find that missing piece at some point in your life. For me, it was finding my girlfriend. One so beautiful that the world seems to come to a standstill. When I first found her, everything changed. The past two years were pretty crazy, but my girlfriend, Nikki Ann-Marie, and I worked through them together. Except, that's where the fun kinda ended. Don't get me wrong, I loved her and the life we had together, but it got a little… uneventful. This morning wasn't that much different aside from the fact that my phone was buzzing like crazy. I picked it up and looked at the screen, which had the name "Justin" at the top. I groaned. Justin was a childhood friend of mine. He was pretty funny and he barely had any friends when we were in school together. The only problem was that he was loud, arrogant, immature, and annoying.

"Hello?" I said, pretending to be half asleep.

"Dude, wassup?! Haven't heard your voice in forever!" Justin's voice yelled out.

"You literally called me YESTERDAY," I said, annoyed.

"Oh, it was? Weird. Anyway, I called to tell you that…"

"…Amy and Mitch's anniversary party is coming up in about a month," I finished. Amy and Mitch were also childhood friends of mine. They both got married two years ago and had their first child recently.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Justin asked.

"Dude, we've had it marked down on our calendars and YOU'VE BEEN CALLING AND REMINDING ME SINCE ABOUT A WEEK AGO!"

"It's seriously been that long?" Justin asked.

"YES, IT HAS!" I said in a pissed off manner.

"Then you shoulda sent me a note saying you did so I don't HAVE to remind you!" he implied. I groaned in disgust. WHY did I have such an annoying friend?

**Nikki's perspective**

"Yeah, so what do you think I should get them for their anniversary?" I said. I was talking to my friend, Maggie, whom I had known since the 6th grade. She was a bit of a nerd like me but was more of a lesbian.

"Don't know. I was thinking maybe I should get like a playset for Ai. She'd love that," she said.

"EXCEPT, you're forgetting that this is about Amy and Mitch. Not their daughter," I replied.

"Well, yeah, but I bet it would make things a lot easier for the two of them. You know Ai's gonna just bother them about it in the future."

"Still, you keep this up, she's gonna start thinking that YOU'RE her mom." Maggie laughed over the phone.

"Yeah, I guess so. So have you heard from Tom or Mikayla?" she asked.

"Yeah, they said they'd be there. How about Naomi? Will she be there?" I asked.

"Oh, very funny."

"I'm serious!"

"Yeah, she'll be there. I mean, I don't think she WOULDN'T be there without me. And how about Max?"

"Yeah, he invited Ichigo and Ryan to the party," I said.

"No, I mean… has he popped the question yet?" Maggie asked. I immediately blushed.

"Uh, no, he hasn't asked… yet," I replied.

"STILL? Girl, he's gotta ask at some point. It's been what? Three years since you guys started dating?"

"Yeah, almost three." As if on cue, Max came out of his room, sat down at the table, and slammed his head down with a loud bang, which made me jump a bit. After a pause, Maggie spoke up.

"I take it he's been talking to Justin," she said.

"You guessed correctly," I replied.

"Doesn't he just press the ignore button? It would save him a whole lot of trouble," Maggie asked.

"I guess he thinks that if he does, then Justin will call back and be like 'Why didn't you pick up?!'" I replied. Max looked up at me and smiled. I always knew how to put him in a good mood.

"What's goin' oooon? Are you… kiss…on the phone?" Maggie's call was starting to cut in and out.

"Sorry, Maggie, what was that? You're cutting in and out," I replied.

"I… you…. doing." All of a sudden, a brilliant, bright blue light shined with such intensity that both me and Max covered our eyes. After it died down, we looked back to the spot and saw a blue-skinned alien in a red bodysuit standing there. Both Max and I had wide eyes. Maggie was still trying to talk to me over the phone.

"Nikki, you still there? I lost you for a second," she said.

"Maggs, I'm gonna have to call you back," I replied, hanging up. I got up from the table and immediately hugged the alien. She was our good friend, Celeste Luvendass, whom we had met a while back.

"Celeste! So good to see you again!" I said.

"I'm pleased to see you two as well," she replied, smiling at me.

"What are you doing here?" Max asked.

"There's something I need to discuss with you two," she said.

**Max's perspective**

"Wait, really?" I asked. Celeste was sitting at the table with us, eating some of the breakfast we had made.

"Yes. You two helped me and I wanted you to join me on one of my missions. I thought that it would be a life changing experience for you," she said.

"But, wait. You mean… an ACTUAL mission? IN SPACE? FOR FRIGGIN' REAL?" Nikki asked, amazed.

"Absolutely. Of course, two of my other friends will also be going on this mission with me . But, they've never seen a human before. Unless you two are busy right now…"

"No! We aren't! I mean, we have this anniversary party we're going to, but that's not for another month," Nikki said, hugging my arm.

"Also, life's been pretty uneventful lately. I think we needed a new adventure as of late," I said.

"Then it's decided! We shall head to Outpost 45 and gather my friends and be on our way to our first mission together!" Celeste said, standing up and raising a fist to the sky.

"There's just one problem," I said, pointing to our two cats, Momo and Quill.

"Oh, yeah. Plus the fact that if we're gone from our jobs for too long, somebody will suspect that something is up," Nikki added. Celeste just smiled and pulled out a small remote.

"I actually figured that you would say that and I came prepared," she said. She pressed a button on the remote and two beings that looked a lot like me and Nikki appeared in a flash of blue light.

"These two androids were created to fill in for you until you return. They will mimic everything, your behavior, your routines, your activities, even your personalities. No one will suspect that you ever left the planet."

"Uuuuuh, well, that's handy," Nikki replied, examining the android that looked like her. "Does my butt look that big?"

"No, it looks fine Nikki. So, what do we do now, Celeste?" I asked.

"Simple. Stand over here with me," Celeste replied. Me and Nikki did as she asked and we stood on either side of her as she fiddled around with a device on her arm.

"Um, shouldn't we get dressed first?" I asked.

"There's no need. And… synchronize," Celeste replied, pressing a button on her wrist. Before either me or Nikki could react, a flash of blue light engulfed the three of us. Before we knew it, we were in some sort of teleporter room with high-tech suits on.

"Welcome to my ship. It's called the SS Centurion," Celeste said, spreading her arms out. Nikki and I couldn't help but look in awe at the interior work of the ship. There was a cafeteria, a gym, sleeping quarters, an armory, and a med bay. The ship had all sorts of cool stuff inside! Celeste showed us the cockpit last.

"And this is where we discuss our missions, examine our terrain, and, of course, where I pilot the ship."

"WHOA! This is like Waverider mixed with Millennium Falcon type crap! THIS IS SO AWESOME!" Nikki said. I couldn't help but chuckle at Nikki geeking out. I looked out the window of cockpit and saw the Earth. It wasn't too far away, but it was far enough away for me to see how beautiful it was from space.

"So, where are we right now?" I asked.

"We are cloaked in orbit around Earth's moon at the moment. But we will be moving shortly," Celeste replied, sitting in the captain's seat.

"Wait, this ship… can CLOAK?!" Nikki asked.

"It can. I usually activate it when I am near Earth or trying to elude notice from unpleasant individuals. Now then," Celeste said before turning to us.

"Have a seat. Strap yourselves in," she said. Nikki and I immediately sat in two of the seats surrounding the command chair and lower the metal harnesses. Celeste smiled and turned back around. The ship slowly hummed to life and turned away from Earth, staring into the unknown. Both me and Nikki held each other's hands, eagerly waiting for what came next.

"Oh, before I forget, this ship functions on a hyperdrive engine. Barely any time will pass since you left because we will be moving so fast. However, because this is your first hyperspace jump, you may notice some… side effects."

"Wait, what side effe-!" Before I could say any more, Celeste pushed a lever forward and the whole ship blasted off at surprising speed. Within a few short seconds, we arrived at some sort of asteroid which had a whole colony of aliens walking around. Celeste landed the Centurion on a landing pad and turned back around to face us. Well, as far as I could tell, she might've. Everything looked extremely blurry.

"I can't see anything. It's all blurry," I said, rather loudly. I couldn't hear very well either. But I could kinda hear that Nikki was vomiting. Hopefully not on the floor.

"That's normal for your first hyper jump. Such side effects include temporary blindness and deafness, nausea and…" Celeste started. But she was interrupted by Nikki.

"Oh, flubse, throm wes intref!" Nikki said.

"Linguistic disorientation," Celeste finished.

"Whet diff yei teff op thug?!" Nikki blabbered. I shook my head trying to clear my vision, which did. My hearing also started to improve.

"OK, I think I'm starting to see a bit better," I said.

"I did say temporary blindness and deafness," Celeste implied.

"Sho, mei gidderesh isk alfo tenpararoy?" Nikki asked. Her speech was also starting to improve.

"Yes, your speech will also improve. Now then, we must meet with the others. I highly recommend not drawing too much attention to yourselves."

"Why? Are humans considered a nuisance? Or a delicacy?" I asked.

"Most aliens have no problems with humans. But it doesn't hurt to be cautious around any type of species you see. Some are exceptionally violent," Celeste said.

"Oh, perfect," I replied sarcastically. We exited the Centurion and made our way through the crowd. Just like Celeste had said, several of the aliens, both big and small, didn't pay any attention to us. Several were simply conversing with one another in their own language or buying from shops or eating out together. It looked rather… peaceful. When we got to the center of the marketplace, Celeste stopped us.

"Remain here until I get back. Hopefully it won't take long for me to find them," she said. With that, she disappeared into the crowd. Me and Nikki stood by a wall in silence, watching the crowd go by.

"Pretty weird," Nikki said.

"How so?"

"That they aren't paying us any attention. Like we're not out of the norm."

"Yeah, I guess so," I replied. I suddenly noticed a couple of aliens cursing about a robot that wasn't responding. The robot looked feminine with orange and yellow hair. Her skimpy outfit was a brilliant green and pink combo with giant arm sleeve cuffs. And her face looked cute. I started to make my toward the stand where the robot was with Nikki holding my hand through the crowd. When we got there, I started to closely inspect the robot, trying to see what was wrong with it.

"You're wasting your time, Terran. No one can get the damn thing to work," a voice said. I turned and saw a rather small, old, red female alien sitting next to the robot, fidgeting with a different contraption.

"How much are you willing to sell it for?" I asked. The alien looked at me and gave me a small chuckle.

"If you can figure out how to turn it on, I'll give it to ya for free. Most of th' people here just want it 'cause it looks shiny. Maybe YOU might get somethin' out of it," she said. I took a closer look at the robot and saw that some of its wires were exposed. That was probably the reason that it wasn't turning on. After fidgeting with the wires for a little bit, the robot suddenly jolted to life, her eyes flashing.

"Greetings! I am Odango, your personal rice cooker and companion! How may I serve you today, Master?" she said, smiling. I noticed that the alien was smiling at me, possibly impressed that I knew how to fix something.

"Well, I'll be. She's all yours, Terran," the alien said. Odango stared eagerly at me, smiling.

"Um, hello, Odango. My name is Max and this is-," I started. But when I turned around, Nikki was gone. I frantically searched the crowd, looking for her.

"Is something amiss, Master?" Odango asked.

"My girlfriend. She's a human with blue hair," I said.

"Fret not! I can scan this entire area and locate her for you!" Odango said. She gazed out into the crowd, her eyes moving at super speed. After a while, her eyes glowed and she dinged.

"There! Over by the outskirts alongside those brute-like monsters!" she said. Sure enough, Nikki was over there, except she was getting HARRASSED by the aliens, not walking alongside them. I immediately grabbed Odango's hand and ran over to them. Nikki looked like she was in fear for her life, one of the aliens licking her face.

"You look like a real beauty. What's your name, Terran?" one of the aliens asked. Nikki just whimpered.

"HEY! LEAVE HER ALONE!" I yelled. The alien brutes turned around to face me.

"Um, that possibly wasn't the best idea, Master," Odango said, her voice becoming fearful.

"Yeah, I realize that now," I said through gritted teeth. One of the alien brutes walked up and towered over me. But I didn't flinch nor cower in fear as the alien looked me over.

"The blue-haired one… is yours?" he asked.

"Yes, she is. And I don't appreciate you treating her like that. Now, please, let her go and we can resolve this peacefully," I said, trying to be smart. Unfortunately, the brute grabbed me by my suit and looked at me menacingly.

"And what are you gonna do about it, punk?" Before I could answer, one of the other brutes went flying past us, crashing into the wall behind us. The brute holding me turned around and saw the other brute holding Nikki was in a hold by a red, muscular, four armed female alien that was easily towering over him. She had short black hair with a streak of red running down it and her outfit looked like what a female gymnast would wear.

"You know, I thought we had an agreement. This is MY turf. That means that any bullies that set foot on this rock and cause trouble get roughed up," she said. She then grabbed the alien she was holding and pulled a backwards suplex on him, driving the alien's face into the ground. The brute holding me let me go and tried to make a run for it, but the female alien grabbed him by the back of his neck before he could get a head start.

"Wait, Amki, hold up! We weren't bullying them, I swear!" he said, trying to get free.

"Bullying, horseplay, sexual harassment… they're all the same to me pal. Now, beat it," Amki said, turning around and throwing him into one of the stands. She turned around to face Nikki, who was rubbing her arm.

"You OK?" she asked.

"Yeah. Thanks for the save. Both of you," Nikki said, looking at me. I just smiled.

"But it was mostly me, right?" Amki asked.

"Stay OUT of trouble. Was your temporary deafness still in effect when I said that?" Celeste said, walking up to us. Behind her was another alien, but she looked more human. Her hair was green, her eyes a burning bright orange, and she was wearing a high tech suit and headset.

"Long time no see, Celeste," Amki said.

"You as well, Amki. Max, Nikki, I'd like you to meet my friend, Eva. She is a mech pilot from the planet, Technus," Celeste said. Eva gave us a small bow and a smile.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both. Celeste talks so much about you two," she said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, Eva. So, is this everyone?" I asked.

"Yes. Thankfully, Amki Trem'r stands out in a crowd, so it wasn't hard to find you here with her," Celeste said.

"Oh, you," Amki said. We immediately went back to the ship and left Outpost 45 and headed off into the unknown again. I was busy helping Nikki in the med bay with her injury.

"That was brave of you, standing up to that guy," she said as I put a bandage around her wrist.

"For you? Always," I replied. Nikki immediately pulled me in for a kiss. But, it didn't last long, because we heard someone clear their throat. It was Amki.

"We're almost at our destination. Captain needs up front," she said. Both me and Nikki immediately went to the bridge just as we exited hyperspace, stopping in front of a red planet.

"Is that Mars?" Nikki asked.

"Close. The planet you are now seeing is Ares, which is somewhat the equivalent of Mars. Many alien species use this planet for breakthroughs in scientific research and genetic engineering," Celeste explained.

"And we're here why now?" Amki asked, unimpressed. Celeste pressed a button, which brought up a hologram of the planet and zoomed in on the research facility.

"24 hours ago, the research team broadcasted an SOS. They were testing a new form of energy when the facility came under attack from an unknown force of unknown origin. This was the last transmission they sent before the whole place went dark," she said. The hologram then pulled up a video of an alien pleading for help in an unknown language before getting pulled off screen by a clawed hand.

"Now, our mission is to search for any survivors and get them to safety and to find the source of the invasion and destroy it," Celeste finished.

"Seems simple enough," Nikki said.

"I actually predict a 49.6% chance it will actually be that simple," Odango said.

"Well then, let's suit up," I said, standing up. After we armed ourselves with guns and supplies, the six of us teleported down into the facility. However, when we did, the walls were soaked with blood and entrails.

"Aaaaaand the percentage just went up to 67.6%," Odango said, clearly scared. She was using one of her hands as a flashlight.

"It should be fine, Odango. Hopefully," Eva said.

"You call this FINE? There's blood all over the WALL!" Amki said.

"Be silent, Amki! The invaders might by listening to us," Celeste hissed.

"I don't see anyone here but us!" Amki implied. However, as this quieted down, we heard a noise that sounded a bit like snarling. I looked to the left and saw an unknown figure walk into view. It was hard to make out exactly was it was at the moment, but I noticed that it had small, curved spikes on its back and its skin was a shade of dark orange. Its clawed hands scraped the ground, slicing through the metal.

"You there! Identify yourself!" Celeste said, pointing her gun at the alien. Odango pointed her light at the alien, which gave us a better look at the its face. It had a gnarly looking head, with jaws filled with razor-sharp teeth and glowing eyes. We barely had any time to say anything because it immediately roared and lunged right at us, scattering the group. Me and Celeste started shooting at it, but it was moving too fast for us to land any killing blows. It also seemed to blink in and out of the shadows.

"Oh yeah! We're definitely not in any danger at all!" Amki yelled sarcastically as the creature lunged at her with its claws, just missing her neck and slicing into the metal wall instead. After Amki threw it off, it turned around to face us again, it held out its hand and threw a fireball at us, which missed and burned the wall instead.

"It can throw fire?! How is that even possible?!" Odango asked, her servers in full-on panic mode. The creature roared and lunged at Nikki, pinning her against the wall. Before it could slash at her, I came up from behind and shot it through the head, blood splattering all over the wall and on Nikki's face. The body slumped to the ground, creating a pool of blood around where the head used to be. Before I could walk any further, I started hearing snarling again, this time coming from behind. Celeste must've heard it too, because she immediately spun around and shot another creature in the chest that was clinging to the wall. The creature fell to the ground with a thud, gurgling to death from the new hole in its chest.

"Well, that was quite an entrance these things made," Eva said, stunned. Nikki wiped the blood off of her face as Celeste and I started to inspect the creatures. Something felt… oddly familiar about them. And then it hit me.

"Wait a-! These are IMPS!" I said, picking up one of the creatures arms.

"Beg your pardon?" Celeste asked, giving me the same confused look Amki, Eva, and Odango had.

"Imps! You know, from the game DOOM?" Nikki chimed in.

"What's DOOM?" Eva asked. Odango's eyes suddenly went white for a moment before returning to normal and holding up a finger.

"DOOM. A videogame released in 1993 depicting a space marine fighting off the forces of Hell on the planet Mars," Odango said. Me and Nikki just looked at her questionably.

"How do you even know that?" I asked.

"The knowledge of Earth isn't just confined to one planet," she replied.

"So, let me get this straight. You know what these things are based on you knowing, what? A DAMN GAME?!" Amki said, clearly pissed at how dumb that no doubt sounded to her.

"Well, based on what I've seen when I first met them, their knowledge is more reliable than I used to think. In any case, these aren't demons," Celeste replied.

"Wait, what?" Nikki asked.

"These are aliens like me. Except they aren't from Tendricide. They're from Infernus."

"What's Infernus?" Nikki asked.

"It's the second planet in this solar system. It is a place of unrelenting heat and the landscape is not unlike that of an Earth volcano. The first alien research team that went to go study Infernus barely even got two feet outside of their ship before the atmosphere burned their suits and scorched their lungs. But, these 'Imps' were the first lifeform that their ship's camera recorded on that planet. They were also responsible for the destruction of the third planet in this solar system, Gaia Prime," Celeste explained.

"OK, the sad story aside, how do we beat these things?" Amki asked.

"Imps usually prefer to fight at medium distance, throwing fireballs at their prey or they'll strike from an elevated position. Either getting up close and personal or shooting outside of their range will mostly do them in. And when they charge up their fireball, they'll be immobile for a short while, which will leave them vulnerable for a short while," Nikki said.

"Are there any other creatures we should be concerned about besides the Imps?" Celeste asked. Before either of us could answer, Odango spoke up.

"Master, I'm getting slight seismic readings from down that hallway," she said pointing down the long corridor. Sure enough, we heard a slight thud coming from down the hallway which grew louder and louder with each passing second. Before long, another creature, far larger than the Imps, walked into view, standing on two powerful legs with dark flesh-colored skin. It had a head that looked somewhat like a half exposed skull, except you could clearly see its glowing eyes. Aside from that, it had a row of sharp spines running down its back and on the sides of its elbows.

"What IS that?" Eva asked.

"THAT… is MINE!" Amki yelled before running toward it at full force. But before she could even land a punch on it, the creature grabbed her upper two fists and stopped her dead in her tracks. As it began to crush her hands, Celeste took advantage of its vulnerable position and opened fire on it. The shots didn't really seem to do anything against it and the creature threw Amki into Celeste, the two of them crashing into the wall. Celeste nearly didn't have time to recover before the creature began running towards us. It suddenly jumped up and punched the ground so hard that it created a shockwave which blew all of us backward. The creature then stood over Eva and the whimpering Odango, growling. Before it could do anything, Amki came in from behind and grabbed the creature's neck with her arms.

"I ain't done with you yet, you son of a bitch!" she said, trying to strangle it. But the creature suddenly tensed up and a couple of spikes came out of its back, one of the stabbing her through the shoulder. Amki couldn't help but let go and the creature turned to her again to fight her. I suddenly got an idea from seeing the creature fight.

"Celeste! Where's the nearest armory?!" I asked. Celeste fiddled with the mini map on her wrist as she continued shooting before finally locating it.

"Down this corridor, down the first corridor on the left, third door on the right! Why do you ask?" she said.

"I have an idea. Nikki, get its attention!" I yelled. Nikki immediately shot the creature in the face as it fought Amki. After throwing the alien to the side, it glared at us menacingly.

"Wait, what was the plan?!" Nikki asked.

"RUN!" I yelled, grabbing her hand. The creature roared and immediately chased us down the hallway, swiping at us every time it got close.

"Max, what are you doing? You are insane if you think you can simply outrun it!" Celeste said over our comms.

"That thing's a Hell Knight! They're known for being extremely aggressive and close combat!"

"So, if we can beat it to the armory…" Nikki started, nearly missing a swipe from the creature.

"We'll have an explosive surprise waiting for him," I finished. OF course, it DID look like suicide, what we were doing. The Hell Knight came close to grabbing us a few times but when we turned the corner into the hallway on the left, it was moving too fast to stop and ended up crashing into the wall, giving us a bit of distance between it and us. It was unable to grab us as we opened the door to the armory and shut it behind us, trapping the monster outside. Unfortunately, it was still banging on the door, trying to get to us.

"That door's not gonna hold him long," Nikki said.

"Then let's hope we can find something strong enough to kill it," I replied, looking around the armory. There weren't a whole lot of weapons that looked damaging enough. But as we were looking, something caught my eye. In the corner, there was a rather human looking weapon that stood out: a double-barreled, break action shotgun. Attached to the underside of it was some sort of grappling hook. As I was examining the weapon, one of the Hell Knight's fists burst through the metal door, trying to grab one of us.

"Nikki, sweetie, if you're gonna pick out a weapon, now's the time to do it!" I said, readying my weapon.

"Yeah, I can't find one that looks powerful enough!" Nikki said, rummaging through the armory. However, when the Hell Knight punched through the door again, she fell backwards into the wall and onto a strange artifact. The artifact suddenly jolted to life and formed a black and blue armored suit around Nikki's body. Before either of us could say anything, the Hell Knight finally tore the door down and grabbed me, throwing me into the hallway. I immediately pointed the shotgun at the creature and pressed a button on the grip which launched the grappling hook. It hit the Hell Knight in the chest and reeled me in close enough for me to land a punch on its head but it grabbed me and pinned me to the ground before I could land a second hit. As it prepared to kill me, Nikki came in from behind and, her hands somehow becoming blades, stabbed the Hell Knight through the back, allowing me to pick up the shotgun and blast it in the face. Its lifeless body fell to the ground with a loud thud, blood gushing onto the walls. Both Nikki and I sat on the floor, trying to catch our breath, and I noticed that the blades on Nikki's hands slowly reformed back into hands.

"OK, now THAT is cool. It's like you're a female Blue Beetle," I said.

"That's prehensile battle armor," Celeste said, walking up to us with the others.

"You know, I had that guy," Amki said, poking the corpse of the Hell Knight.

"By all means, feel free to take credit for it, FourArms," I replied, out of breath.

"So, what's this about prehensile battle armor?" Nikki asked. Celeste immediately pulled up a schematic of the suit she was wearing.

"It's a suit that was designed on the planet Technus, the same place where Eva is from. Basically, it can create any sort of weapon based on your thoughts," Celeste explained. Nikki immediately closed her eyes and her arm transformed into an arm cannon.

"Make that hella cool," I said. I suddenly heard Odango screech and ran into the armory. She eagerly held up a small chip in front of me.

"Look Master! It's a combat module upgrade! With this, I can finally fight alongside you guys!" she exclaimed. She immediately plugged the chip into her arm and her eyes went fully red for a minute before returning to normal. Her arms suddenly transformed into giant arm cannons and a couple of rocket launchers appeared out of her back.

"Combat Upgrade successfully installed! Defense Protocols engaged!" Odango said triumphantly. I just chuckled nervously. Eva walked out sporting a more armored version of her suit which had some glowing parts, and Amki had some kind of high tech gloves on her lower arms and she was holding a spiked ball on a chain attached to a gauntlet in her other hand.

"Ooooh, baby! This is a popular weapon from my home planet. They call it the 'Hellraiser'", she said, grinning. Celeste walked into the armory and eyed a pair of energy katanas on the wall.

"I thought guns were your thing," I said, walking up behind her. Celeste just smiled and took the katanas down from the wall.

"Who told you that?" she asked.

"MASTER! I'm getting movement from down the hall!" Odango said frantically.

"How many?"

"Around 60 individual targets!"

"Guess this is our target practice people! Let's test these babies out!" Amki said, getting into a defensive stance. Sure enough, around 60 Imps were racing down the hallway towards us, their fangs ready to sink into us. Before one of them could reach us, Odango fired a couple of rockets at the group. The explosion killed a whole bunch of them, but a large number still remained. Amki followed up, throwing her flail at one of them and then whipping it back and hitting a few more. A few Imps homed in on Eva, but her suit began to glow and she punched one of the Imps which created a concussive blast which tore the first one apart and knocked the others back. Celeste took advantage of their vulnerable position and sliced through them with her katanas. The last batch of Imps came right at me and Nikki, but we simply either shot them or Nikki stabbed it with one of her arm blades. After the dust cleared, not a single Imp was left alive.

"Whoo! Now THAT was a workout!" Amki said, stretching a bit.

"Yes. But, even with these weapons, we still can't fight all of them head-on," Celeste said.

"Well, is there a BFG-9000 somewhere in this facility?" I asked.

"Beg your pardon?"

"The Big Frackin' Gun! The most powerful weapon in DOOM history! It can easily wipe out entire groups of enemies without ever missing!" Nikki said, her eyes sparkling. Celeste took a quick look at her map.

"Well, there is no 'Big Frackin Gun' but there is a Bio-Force Gun stationed near the holding cells," Celeste said. Nikki and I groaned at how stupid that name sounded.

"How destructive is this BFG?" Odango asked.

"It says here that it's a powerful plasma energy weapon with devastating effects."

"Sounds like the sort of thing we need right now. But, what the hell is it doing in front of the holding cells?" Amki asked.

"In case if the threat got too serious. My guess is if one of them got out while they were doing research, it would lead to them trying to free the others. Unfortunately, if it's still there, it means that no one was able to use it against this threat. We should go retrieve it before we head anywhere else," Celeste said. As we moved down the hallway, a door suddenly just closed, separating me, Nikki, and Celeste from the others.

"Whoa, what the hell?!" I said.

"Hey, what's goin' on?" Odango asked from the other side.

"Is the place going on lockdown?" Nikki asked, looking at the door controls.

"Impossible. The place should have been in lockdown already once someone pressed the alarm. It doesn't make sense that it would suddenly go into lockdown now," Celeste said.

"Wait, does that mean-?"

"Someone is watching us. It may very well be the leader of this invasion and he or she may have access to the door controls for this facility."

"And they're trying to split us up," I said.

"Is there another way around this door?" Amki asked, audibly trying to punch through the door.

"If you take the corridor to your right, you should see some signs pointing towards the holding cells. We'll meet there!" Celeste said. We immediately started to move down the hallway toward our destination, hopefully as quickly as possible.

**Amki's perspective**

BS. TOTAL BS is what this was. Once again, I got dragged into one of Celeste's "missions" and we were now knee-deep in the dead! Well, OK, I volunteered, I didn't get dragged. But still, I always hated it when missions like these went south. As me, Odango, and Eva continued to move down the hallway, we started hearing the snarls again. These things, I swear…

"How many of these things are there exactly? I mean, I can tell on my radar but what about the entire facility?" Odango asked.

"Possibly amounting to the hundreds. It's impossible to tell how many there are without a full analysis of this facility," Eva said. Hundreds of 'em? Bring it on. I was a reigning champion when I was growing up on my home world. Killing a bunch of demon-like aliens was nothing but a cake walk. However, as we got closer, it all went quiet. Like, DEAD quiet. And then we heard snorting. Like the monstrous Terrakin that live on my planet. They were like giant bull-like creatures with rows of razor sharp teeth. As we rounded the corner, we saw exactly what was making the snorting noise. It stood on two powerful hind legs, like the Hell Knight we encountered earlier, except a little bit bigger. Its skin was more pinkish than the Hell Knight's and its head had two large, curved horns. It was holding an Imp in its muscular grip. I really wish Max and Nikki were here 'cause I really wanted to know what it was called so I could make fun of how stupid its name was.

"Uhhhh, that's not a Hell Knight, is it?" Odango asked.

"Hang back. I'll handle this," I said. Yeah, I didn't really fare well against the Hell Knight, but I wasn't going to make that same mistake again. The… minotaur Infernite… thing dropped the Imp and stared at me menacingly, its mouth drooling. Its hand suddenly started glowing green and it threw some kind of plasma ball at me, which nearly grazed my arm. The creature then charged at me and I did the same. Our hands collided, creating a shockwave that smashed some of the monitors in that room. The two of us struggled to push the other away, but we were both evenly matched. I then got close enough so I could punch the monster in the gut and I was able to throw him into the wall. Unfortunately, I didn't see that another of the same creature had snuck up behind me and grabbed my arm, throwing me at Odango and Eva. They managed to dodge out of the way before I even hit the wall. Both monsters threw more plasma orbs at me, but I was a bit too fast for them. Odango took the lead of distracting one by firing missiles at it while I focused on the other. The monster's fists glowed green before it charged at me and swiped at me. It barely missed my neck, but I was quick to respond, swinging my flail at him and crushing its head with the end of it. The second monster immediately turned its attention to me and knocked the flail out of my hand and pinned me up against the wall. I broke free of its grasp and engaged it in hand-to-hand combat. I held up pretty well against it, but, damn, this thing could hit really hard. Odango opened fire on the creature again, which distracted it long enough for me to break free of its grip and grab it by one of its horns. I tried to rip its head off, but the monster just punched me, losing its horn in the process. Eva shot at it with a concussive blast which threw off the monster a bit, but it immediately turned back to face me. It roared and charged straight at me, but, using its own horn as a bat, I hit it so hard that I crushed its skull. Its lifeless body crumpled to the ground, blood splattering on the wall.

"OK, THAT was a bit too chaotic for me," Odango said, wiping some of the blood off of her face.

"Well, either way, thanks for the assist," I said, picking up my flail.

"We should keep moving. I would rather not be here if more of these things show up," Eva said. But, before we could move anywhere, we started hearing the snarling again.

"Spoke too soon," I replied.

"I don't know how much more my poor protocols can take," Odango said.

"They may have to endure a bit more. We will need to fight our way through them in order to reach the others," Eva said, powering up her suit. I picked up the two of them with my lower two arms and got into a ready stance.

"Then I'll run and punch! You two shoot!" I said. I began to run at full force down the hallway, sharply turning at corners pointing to the holding cells. At one intersection, there was a whole horde of Imps gathering around a flesh feast. By the time they had noticed me, it was already too late for them to react.

"WHAT'S UP, BITCHES?!" I yelled as I began to punch through them and Odango and Eva began to shoot.

**Max's perspective**

"Amki? Eva? Anyone? Respond!" Celeste said, speaking through her comms as we moved down the corridor. And listen, I really don't know exactly how people in horror films felt in situations like this, but this felt eerily similar to those types of scenarios. The hallway of the facility was dimly lit, one blinking on and off every now and again. As if it was preventing us from seeing where the next attack would come from. Nikki and Celeste were behind me, guns ready as we moved through the hall. The floor was soaked in blood, no doubt from the victims of the attack. The walls had deep gashes made by their sharp claws. You could probably even hear the screams of agony in your head.

"You know, I'm glad we came here, Celeste. You ask us to help you, you bring us to a planet literally overrun by bloodthirsty DEMON ALIENS. Yeah, this is working out reeeaaall great," I said, sarcastically.

"Hon, stop it," Nikki said.

"These scientists messed with a power they thought they could contain. That was their mistake. And we're here to clean up their mess," Celeste replied.

"Any word from the others?" I asked.

"Still nothing."

"Dammit. If they aren't responding, they must've gotten caught," I replied.

"Don't assume that. Amki is a lot stronger than she looks and she has won several fights against nearly impossible odds. This would be no problem for her," Celeste said.

"Against THAT many of them? I think even she would have her limits," Nikki replied. As we continued down the hallway, the ambiance became even more unsettling. Like something was hunting us.

"You know, this is why I dislike playing horror games. You never know what-!" I didn't get to finish because Celeste suddenly pushed us both up against the wall.

"CELESTE! WHAT THE H-?!" I started to yell. Celeste forcefully pressed her finger against my lips.

"Quiet! We are not alone here!" she hissed. I started hearing exactly was she was. It sounded at first like some sort of squishy noise, like someone walking through the mud. But as I listened closer, it sounded more like flesh tearing as well as the grunts and snorts of some sort of creature. Celeste immediately switched positions to a pillar in the middle of the hallway. She then motioned for me and Nikki to look. Both of us looked around the corner and down the hallway to where the noise was coming from. And there was where we saw it. The noise was coming from a large, pink, bulky, muscular boar-like beast eating the corpse of a dead scientist. The creature looked like it was covered in a thick layer of armor with tusk-like spines running down its back and jutting out of its elbows and tail. It mouth looked big enough to swallow a small alien whole and it was filled with sharp fangs and huge tusks. The creature violently thrashed and tore apart his prey, dark blue blood gushing all over the floor. Nikki was trying her best to muffle her whimpers of fear while I kept a close eye on the beast. It eventually got tired of toying with its meal and ate the rest of the corpse before leaving. After a while, both Celeste and I peeked around the corner to check if the coast was clear. As Celeste moved down the hallway, I began to try and calm Nikki down.

"Baby, look at me. Everything's OK. We're gonna be just fine," I said. Turns out I spoke to soon because the creature burst through the window behind us and chased us down the corridor, roaring. I pulled Nikki to the side just as he caught up with us causing him to hit the wall. The beast just shook its head and turned back to face me. I immediately shot at it with my gun, but the shots didn't seem to hurt him, much less faze him. It charged at me again, but Celeste came at it from the side and sliced into its skin with her katana. The creature roared in pain and immediately charged at her, slamming her against the wall. As it moved in for the kill, Nikki hit the creature with a piece of metal debris and then shoved it into the creature's mouth. But it just simply crushed the metal with its giant maw and growled at both Celeste and Nikki, its mouth drooling.

"Hey, Freakshow!" I yelled, shooting at the creature again. My diversion worked because the beast turned to face me, staring at me with its beady, glowing eyes, steam coming out of its nose. It pawed the ground with its foot before letting out a roar and charging at me full force. I knew I had to time the shot just right or the creature would tear me to shreds. My finger was rested on the trigger, ready to shoot. But before the creature could even reach me, it was suddenly yanked backward and thrown against the wall. Amki was back and ready for more. But so was the beast. As it stood back up, the center of its lower jaw opened up and spewed a fireball at her, but Amki easily avoided it and pinned the creature to the wall and used her arms to break its jaws open. Amki took a step back and then looked at me.

"Now, we're even," she said, smiling at me.

"What happened, you weren't responding to your comms," Celeste said, walking up to her.

"Fell out of my ear as we dealt with those ugly bastards. Sorry to scare you," Amki replied. As I moved away from the group, another door suddenly closed behind me, separating me from the group.

"AGAIN?! Seriously?! Who the hell is doing this?" Nikki asked from behind the door.

"Max, listen. The holding cells should be just down the hallway. We'll circle around and meet you at the top!" Celeste said.

"Please be careful, Max," Nikki said.

"I will. I love you," I said before running down the hallway to our destination. When I got there, I saw a pedestal holding a large gun in some sort of small levitation field. It's size and shape were undeniable. It was the BFG-9000. I saw that one of the alien scientists had tried to reach for it, but half of him was gone, his entrails spilled out over the floor. I took the BFG from its pedestal and continued walking through the holding area. But as I neared where Celeste said we would meet, I saw one of the holding cells was holding a human. A girl, to be specific. I couldn't put my finger on it, but she looked a bit familiar. Her hair was black, which was tied into a ponytail. She was wearing a black jumpsuit, similar to the one Celeste was wearing, and she was rubbing her finger across the glass. As I moved closer, the corners of her mouth formed a slight smile.

"I always knew that you would come back to me. You couldn't resist me, could you?" the girl asked. Her voice sounded oddly… familiar.

"Who are you? How do you even know me?" I asked. The girl just giggled lightly.

"You could never forget me. You were always destined with me…" She lifted her head up to look at me with her gray eyes and a wide smile.

"Senpai," she finished. My entire body immediately went cold with fear. I DID know who she was. She was the worst imaginable person I had ever met in my life. A cold, heartless person. My second ex-girlfriend.

Ayano Aishi.

**To Be Continued…**


	2. Chapter 2: Face Your Fears

HuniePop Space Adventures

Chapter 2: Face Your Fears

**Warning: This chapter contains content that is NOT for the faint of heart. It includes a VERY tragic backstory with disturbing elements. Read at your own risk!**

Ayano Aishi. My second ex-girlfriend. The mere sight of her made nightmares of my past rush back to me. Nightmares that took me years to forget. Ayano playfully rubbed her finger all over the glass, as if she were trying to spell something.

"H-how? The doctors said that you escaped and were never found again. How the hell are you here?!" I asked, stunned. I heard a small chuckle coming from above us, to the right. I looked up and saw a red haired girl with glasses standing at a control console.

"It's so strange how fate can be sometimes, isn't it?" the girl said.

"Who the hell are you?" I asked. The girl just lowered her glasses. Her eyes were a blood red while her sclerae were black.

"You may call me Info-chan. Do you know about the infamous cyber-attack of 2014 at a certain high school?" she asked.

"Akademi High School. Whole school went dark for a day and a lot of private information was almost leaked. I remember that school and that event. I don't remember you," I replied. The girl just chuckled.

"Of course, you wouldn't. Because as I recall, the cause of that attack was never uncovered. You see, Ayano is my loyal subordinate. I fed her information on how to get her 'Senpai' and eliminate the competition while never disclosing my identity to her. After she broke free of her prison, I brought her here to give her the power she so desired. And I believe that it's past time that you rekindled your old romance," Info-chan said. She pressed a button which raised the cell which was holding Ayano. She stood up and staggered a bit before looking me in the eye.

"Oh, Senpai. How I longed to be with you once again. And now, we will finally be one again!" Ayano said. All of a sudden, her eyes turned red, her fingers elongated into claws and her teeth became razor sharp. She stared at me with such intensity that it became so unnerving.

"See, Senpai? Don't I look so much more beautiful?!" she asked.

"Jeez, you really are a psycho," I said. Bad idea, Max. You know she doesn't like being called that. Ayano's pupils contracted and she lunged at me. I shot at her with my shotgun, but she easily avoided the shot and pinned me against the wall.

"Do I look like a psycho?" she asked with a toothy grin. She rubbed her hand against my right side, feeling a scar I had ever since I had known her. Her eyes immediately welled up with tears. Tears of BLOOD.

"You kept it… after all these years. I'm so happy, Senpai! But… I think we should have more proof of our love," Ayano said. Without any warning, she stabbed her claws into my side. I couldn't help but yell in pain as she took her claws out and the blood gushed out of my side. She ran her bloody hand down the side of my face, as if to comfort me.

"Don't scream. It's just a product of our love. I promise that you'll enjoy it in time," she said, advancing in on my face. But before I could say anything or she could do anything, a rain of plasma bolts came down from above, one of them hitting Ayano in the shoulder. I looked up and saw Nikki aiming her arm cannon down at Ayano. She fired again and hit Ayano in the chest, which made her stagger backward. Quick thinking, I aimed my shotgun upward and fired the grappling hook, which was caught by Amki. I grabbed the BFG before she yanked me upward out of Ayano's grasp and dragged me through the door as Celeste and Eva shot at Info-chan, who managed to escape. Odango was at one of the terminals, apparently trying to hack into something. Ayano climbed up the wall and got an eyeful of Nikki, who shot her again and made her nearly fall of the ledge. Ayano screamed and lunged right for us, claws and teeth out, but the door suddenly closed, locking her out. As she audibly tried to get through the door, Nikki tried to tend to my wounds.

"You OK?" she asked.

"Define 'OK'," I replied.

"'OK'. Usually a term to describe how one-," Odango started.

"He did not mean literally, Odango," Celeste interrupted.

"Soooo, are we gonna talk about what just happened? Who was that girl?" Amki asked.

"My second ex-girlfriend," I said, cringing at my pain.

"Your second ex?" Nikki asked, looking at me with a worried look on her face.

"Ayano Aishi. She's a yandere. Or at least she was until she became a psychopath," I said.

"What the hell is a yandere?" Amki asked.

"It's a term used to describe a person who is initially very loving and gentle to someone before their devotion becomes destructive in nature, often through violence and bloodlust," Celeste explained.

"And you dated that girl?" Amki asked me.

"Not intentionally," I replied.

"Well, it could be a lot worse. You could've had a yandere girlfriend who wanted you to drink her love nectar," Odango said, sheepishly.

"YEAH, I'D THINK I'D RATHER HAVE THAT INSTEAD OF WHAT I GOT!" I yelled. However, I immediately reeled back from the pain coming out of my side.

"Please tell me there's an infirmary near here!" Nikki said, trying to put pressure on my wound. Celeste took out a sprayer and sprayed some sort of medicine on my wound, which stopped gushing blood and then proceeded to check the mini map on her wrist.

"There is. It's just down this corridor. And thanks to Odango's extensive computer skills, we now have access to every door in this facility," she said.

"And better news! There isn't a single enemy down this entire corridor!" Odango said.

"Then let's get going before they decide to come back," Amki said, picking me up. Nikki gave me a kiss on the head before looking up at Amki.

"Please be careful. I don't wanna lose him," she said, tears running down her face. Amki just smiled and put a hand on her shoulder.

"He's in good hands. No one's getting left behind," she said.

"We need to move. Every second we waste means a second closer to death for him!" Celeste said. The team immediately began to run down the hallway toward the infirmary.

"I know that this might be a bad time to ask, but what was it that exactly occurred between you and Ayano that caused her to become like this?" Eva asked.

"Something… that happened a long time ago," I replied.

**6 years ago…**

I remember the day like it was only yesterday. It was on May 6, 2014, underneath the sakura trees at my old high school, Akademi High, where my life took a turn for the worst. As I was walking down the pathway from the entrance of the school, I was ambushed with a hug from behind. It was my wonderful girlfriend, Generica, a girl with luscious purple hair, a voice as smooth as silk, and the sweetest heart ever known to mankind.

"Hello, Marshmallow. I missed you," she said, hugging me tightly. I turned around and kissed her tenderly. Her kisses were always so soft and filled with love, so much that it felt like the world stopped around us. After we broke away from the kiss, we stared into each other's eyes.

"I missed you, too," I replied, smiling.

"Oh, how I envy that I couldn't be in the same classes as you. It would be great for us to have more quality time together and to improve our relationship!"

"Well, the school makes the schedule, not us. Plus, we share English class together," I replied.

"So, what shall we do now that we are out of school?" Generica asked.

"Oh, I have a pretty romantic night planned for the two of us," I said, ruffling through my bag.

"Is something wrong, Marshmallow?"

"My school notebook. I could've sworn that I put it in my bag. Ah, whatever. I'll get it tomorrow," I said.

"No, you should go get it real quick! We do have that big test we've been studying for in a few short days and those notes would really help! I'll just stay here until you get back," Generica said. I smiled and kissed her.

"Alright, I'll be back in a minute! I love you!" I said, rushing back to the school. But I wish that I had never gone back in that school and left her just standing there. After I had grabbed my notebook and put it back in my bag, I ran back out the door, only to find that Generica was gone.

"Generica?" I called out. No response. I went back over to the cherry blossom trees, looking for her and calling out her name. After a while, I started to get a bit frantic. After a few more minutes of searching, I heard the slight splashing of some kind of liquid. I looked down and saw a pool of it. BLOOD. My whole body became cold and tense with fear as I looked around the trunk of the tree. What I saw confirmed my fear: Generica's body was on the ground, cold and lifeless, blood gushing out of her stomach. I immediately went over to pick up her body and put two of my fingers up against her neck. Tears began to run down my face. She had no pulse.

"Generica? Sweetie? Please, wake up," I said, crying and slightly shaking her body. There was no response. But before I could say anything more or call the police, something hit me from behind. I fell face first into Generica's blood and the entire world went dark. When I came to, I was lying in a bed with bandages around my head. I turned myself around and saw a girl sitting alongside the side of the bed. She had black hair wrapped into a ponytail and grey eyes. I immediately sat up, startled.

"Are you alright?" she asked. I just gave her a confused look.

"Uhhh, yeah. Except… What exactly am I doing in your bed?" I asked.

"Oh, that. I saw that someone had knocked you out and they left in a hurry when I saw them. I brought you home so you could recover!" the girl said happily. I suddenly remembered exactly what had happened and began to search my pockets frantically for my phone.

"What's wrong?"

"My phone! I swear I had my phone on me when I was knocked out!" I said.

"Why do you even need your phone?"

"To call the police! Someone was murdered and I need to tell them!" I replied. I got up and started to head out the door.

"Wait, take it easy! I already called the police and they're searching for the killer now!" the girl said.

"OK, then why didn't you just lead with that?" I asked.

"I didn't mean to worry you. I just was more concerned with your safety."

"Wait a minute. I know you. You're Ayano Aishi, aren't you?" I asked. The girls eyes lit up and she smiled.

"Yes! Yes! I'm so glad that you remembered!" Ayano said, ecstatic.

"Yeah, you were getting bullied and I helped you get back up."

"And you told those girls to leave me alone. I was so honored that you stood up for me like that. I'm sorry if I startled you by bringing you here."

"It's no problem. So, um, can you tell me where my phone is? I need to call my parents," I said. Ayano looked up at me with disappointed eyes.

"Why?"

"So I can tell them that I'm OK. They get really worried when I'm gone for too long."

"Oh! Of course! I'll see if I can- Wait, do you smell that?" Ayano said, sniffing the air.

"What?" I asked. I started to smell the air too. It smelled like someone was cooking. It smelled very good and made my mouth salivate. Ayano suddenly grabbed my hand and led me out of the room.

"Come quickly. My mother just made dinner. You simply must join us!" she said, leading me down the stairs. I tried to protest but she wouldn't listen to me. Plus, my stomach started to grumble so I felt that having dinner would help a bit. Ayano led me into the living room and sat me down on the couch.

"Wait here! I'll go get the table set for us!" she said before running away. I don't know why, but it felt like Ayano was being a bit forceful towards me. Well, maybe she was just being a bit overprotective. I got up and looked around the living room, looking at how neat and organized everything was. My eyes then fell upon a picture of a couple that was sitting on a table. I picked it up and saw that the woman looked about 40 years old, was wearing a purple T-shirt and jeans and had black hair wrapped into a ponytail that went all the way down to her hips. The hair at her sides also went down that far. The man was wearing a collared shirt with a tie and khaki pants and black hair. But what was a bit off-putting about it was that the woman was smiling tenderly while the man looked… disappointed. Like he didn't want to be there or he didn't like the woman he was with. I didn't really understand why, given that the woman looked really nice and cheerful. My thoughts were interrupted by a woman running up to me. She looked exactly like the woman in the picture, except she was wearing an apron on top of her clothes and had purple slippers on.

"Excuse me! Please don't touch that! It's very precious to me!" she exclaimed, taking the picture from me and putting it back on the table. She adjusted her hair and smiled at me.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't realize it meant so much," I said sheepishly.

"No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have overreacted like that. You must be Ayano's friend from school. She's told me so much about you."

"Uh, yeah, that's me," I said. Ayano suddenly rushed up to me and hugged my arm.

"I see that you've met my mother. Senpai, this is Ryoba Aishi. Mother, this is my Senpai!" Ayano said. Wait, hold up. SENPAI?

"Uh, my name's Max Smith, actually. Nice to meet-," I started to say. But again, Ayano interrupted me and dragged me over to the table.

"Come on, Senpai! Let's have dinner!" she said, sitting me down. Ryoba just giggled at Ayano's antics and sat down with us. She had prepared us a simple chicken meal with some peas and carrots, but it tasted REALLY good. I don't know why I wasn't friends with this girl sooner. And her mother was so nice too! After a while, I started to make conversation with the two of them.

"So, Mrs. Aishi, how long have you been married?" I asked.

"Oh! Around 20 beautiful years! MY husband is the most wonderful man I could've hoped to marry!" Ryoba said, beaming.

"And where is Mr. Aishi?"

"Unfortunately, he's working late tonight. I'm sorry that you couldn't meet him. He would be pleased to meet you," she replied. Ayano immediately got up from the table and grabbed my arm.

"Senpai, let's go back to my room. There's something that I would like to discuss with you," she said, lifting me up and dragging me away. Seriously, my poor arm felt like it was going to pop out of my socket. After we got into her room, Ayano closed the door behind her and sat down in a chair.

"Sooooo, uh, what did you want to talk to me about?" I asked. I noticed that Ayano was starting to blush.

"Senpai, I don't know any other way to say this but, I feel like I have to say it now," she said.

"OK?"

"Senpai…. Ever since that day that you stood up for me, I've been having feelings. Feelings whenever I'm around you. Like my heart starts racing," she said, gripping her skirt.

"What are you saying? That you… like me?" I asked. Ayano gave a slight gasp and her face turned bright red.

"What… how… when?" she stammered.

"There's nothing wrong with that, Ayano. A lot of girls like me. It's not like I'm the most unapproachable person in the world!" I said, smiling. Ayano seemed to be embarrassed. She was completely red in the face and she was clutching her skirt really tight. Before I could say anything, Ayano stood up in silence and trembled a bit.

"I'm… going to go get us some dessert! I'll be right back!" she said, running out of the room. I started to get a bit uneasy, as if something was off about her. But, that couldn't be the case, right? I then noticed that her phone was on her desk and I picked it up. I had to call my parents and let them know that I was alright. Plus, Ayano wouldn't have a problem if I was just calling my parents, right? But when I unlocked the phone, I saw a whole bunch of pictures of me and Generica. A bit weird, but I noticed that several of the pictures had red lines crossing out Generica and a circle around me with the words, "He's MY Senpai! Not yours!". Was Ayano a stalker? Did she have a thing for me and wish that Generica was gone? I immediately shook it off and went to the phone app. When it opened up into call history, I noticed that she didn't call 911. In fact, the only two contacts in her history were her mother and an unknown number. Nothing else. I just ignored it at the moment and continued to call my mom. After a few rings, she picked up.

"Hello?" she said.

"Hey, Mom, it's me," I replied.

"Max?! Sweetie?! Oh my God, are you OK sweetie?"

"I'm fine, Mom. I'm at a friend's house."

"Oh, sweetheart, I was so worried about you. I was about to file an amber alert, I was so worried!" my mom said. Did I mention that my mom was super protective of me?

"Mom, amber alerts are for abducted children, not young adults," I said.

"Sweetie, listen. Where are you? I need to come and pick you up now!"

"Mom, I'm at a friend's house, I said. Her name's Ayano Aishi."

"Who? You know what, never mind. Is there a street name that you can see?" she asked. I went over to the window and parted the blinds, looking for a street name.

"Hold up. I can't see it that well. Oh, wait, the street is-," I started to say. But before I could say anymore, the phone was snatched out of my hand. I looked over my shoulder and saw Ayano standing there, the phone in one hand and a plate of custard pudding in the other hand. However, she didn't have a look of innocence anymore. It looked more like a look of disgust and anger. She hung up the phone and set it down on the desk along with the pudding.

"Who were you talking to, Senpai?" she asked in a dark voice.

"Just my mom. I told you that I had to tell her where I was," I replied.

"So she can take you away from me?" she said.

"What are you talking about? It's not like I won't see you again at school tomorrow."

"That's just the point. I don't want to see you again at school tomorrow. I want you to stay here with me. Forever."

"Whoa, Ayano, I think you're being a bit too serious about this, aren't you? Also, I saw your call history. You never called the police. Why did you lie to me?" I asked nervously. Ayano sat down in front of me with glaring, disapproving eyes. It was like she was trying to burn a hole in the center of my head.

"Don't you get it? I finally have you here… with me. It only took the death of that slut for you to notice me. And now that you have, I will NEVER let you go," Ayano said, grimly. Her words shocked me. I felt like I knew the answer, but I had to ask her.

"Ayano… did you… kill my girlfriend?" I asked, tearfully. Before I could react, Ayano grabbed my wrists and wrestled me to the ground, tying up my wrists behind my back with a rope. She then proceeded to tie up my ankles and then sat me in a chair. She then brought the pudding over to the table behind me and sat on top of my lap. I never felt so scared in all my life and it didn't help that Ayano had this evil look on her face.

"It's time for your dessert, Senpai. I made it with a lot of love so you better eat all of it," she said.

"Ayano! Answer me! Did you kill Generica?!" I asked, becoming hysterical.

"I did. But it was because she was hogging you all to herself and taking advantage of you. I was just trying to help you," Ayano replied.

"WHY?! She was an innocent girl! She didn't deserve to die! I loved her!" I said, crying. Ayano just ignored me and stuck a bit of pudding in front of my face.

"Eat," she commanded. But I refused to eat it, even as she pushed it up against my lips.

"I SAID EAT!," Ayano said again, louder this time. But I locked my teeth together, refusing to eat. But I probably should've actually eaten it, because next thing I knew, Ayano pulled a kitchen knife out of her drawer and stabbed me in the side with it. As I screamed in pain, Ayano put the pudding in my mouth and forced me to swallow it. If it were any other kind-hearted girl feeding me this pudding, I would've enjoyed it. But, with this girl, sadistic and insane, sitting on my lap while I was tied there, driving a knife into my side WHILE she was feeding me? It was completely horrifying. Ayano took the knife out of my side and some of the blood on it splattered onto her pudding and the floor. Ayano seemed displeased but not too upset at what had just happened.

"You got blood all over the pudding. Now, I have to go make another one," she said. She got up off of me and drove the knife into the table and balled up one of her shirts and placed it on my wound. As she started to walk out the door, she turned back to face me.

"Don't even try to escape. If you do, there will be consequences, Senpai," she warned, wiping the blood off of her face. She then walked out the door and closed it behind her. After she did, I started to inch my way over to the knife. I didn't care if she told me to stay put, I HAD to get out of there. After the knife was directly behind me, I began to cut the ropes with the blade and free myself. After I had gotten the ropes around my ankles undone, I made a silent dash to the door. I suddenly heard the phone ringing and cautiously opened the door a crack. I saw Ryoba standing there, talking into the phone.

"Hi sweetie! How's your day going? You know, Ayano has a friend over. He's a very sweet boy!" she said cheerfully. After a pause, however, her expression turned dark.

"I hope that you aren't with somebody else at this moment. You know I don't like that. You're married to ME, remember?" she said. My whole body went cold. Ayano's mom was ALSO a yandere?! Then that meant that her father was forced into this marriage against his own will. After another pause, her expression softened.

"Well, that's good to hear. I think he might be staying for the night, so you might still get a chance to talk to him. So, hurry home! I love you always!" she said in a cheerful mood again. I silently closed the door and tried to look for another way to escape. If Ryoba saw me trying to leave, she might put me back in the chair and toture me for trying to leave her daugther. Or worse. I suddenly noticed that my bag was lying under Ayano's bed. I immediately started to look through it, trying to see if Ayano had put my phone in it. But only my notebook was inside. Of course it wouldn't be that easy. I realized that I had no other choice but to escape out the window. I slipped my bag over my shoulder, silently opened the window and made my way down the roof. I dropped down to the ground and landed on the side where Ayano had stabbed me, but I gritted my teeth and tried to hold back my screams of pain. After that, I snuck past the kitchen windows and ran for my life, clutching my side. When I got to the road, a car had just turned the bend and stopped right in front of me as I collapsed to the ground. A woman got out of the passenger's seat and ran over to me.

"Omigosh, sweetie are you OK?" she asked. She suddenly noticed my stab wound.

"Harry! Get us to the hospital as fast as you can! He needs a doctor!" she exclaimed as she led me to the car and laid me down in the back seat. After that, I passed out. When I came to, I was sitting in a hospital bed. A doctor was standing right beside me, trying to wake me up.

"Son, are you alright?" he asked.

"Sort of. Where am I?"

"At the hospital. You had a severe knife wound in your side, but none of your vital organs were hit. You're very lucky to be alive, son."

"My bag. Where is it?" I asked. The doctor picked my bag off the ground and gave it to me. I weakly wrote my parent's number on a piece of paper and gave it to him.

"That's my parent's number. Please call them," I said. The doctor smiled and patted my shoulder.

"We'll call them right away. Get some rest for now, son," he said, walking out of the room. I didn't really feel like sleeping and opened my notebook. If I had to do the test even if I was in the hospital, then I should get started on studying. However, as I flipped through it, a pink letter fell out of the pages. I saw that it was addressed to me. I opened it and inside was a card with hearts all over it and inside the card was Generica's handwriting.

It said:

_My dearest Marshmallow,_

_These past two years have been the most memorable of my life thanks to you. I remember that when we first met, it was at first because of a dare. You could barely stand straight because of how beautiful you saw me. And you bravely stood up to a bully later that day when he was sexually harassing me. Even though he gave you a black eye, you still didn't back down from him. And when I came to tend to you after the fight, you looked me straight in the eyes and told me that I was the most beautiful angel in the world. And I called you my knight in shining armor and you kissed me tenderly. You felt so soft and warm and sweet when you kissed me, it felt like I was kissing a marshmallow, which is what I decided to call you. Despite this pet name I gave you, you were always there for me throughout the year and your love for me made me whole and any woman would be privileged to have you as their husband. I look forward to the many years that we will have to spend together and the memories we will have to share._

_Your future wife,_

_Generica_

The tears came to my eyes and I pulled the letter closer to my heart. Generica was the first girl that I ever loved. And now she was gone. As I was crying, a nurse came in with a glass of water and noticed me crying.

"Is everything alright?" she asked. I immediately wiped the tears from my face.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a heartfelt love letter," I replied, smiling a bit. The nurse smiled back.

"I brought you some-," she started to say. But, before she could say anymore, she fell completely silent. I saw blood starting to drip out of mouth, some of which fell into the glass, coloring the water red. She suddenly fell to the ground and what was standing behind her horrified me. Ayano was standing there, a knife in her hand and the darkest look I had ever seen. I fell out of the bed and tried to make my way toward the window as Ayano locked the door and walked toward me. The nurse's blood started to make a large pool which Ayano walked through and she grabbed my shoulders and forced me up against the wall. My entire body was cold and Ayano's stare made me even more fearful as she straddled on top of me.

"I warned you, Senpai. Now you have to face the consequences," she said.

"Just leave me alone! Ayano, you're gonna be in a whole lot of trouble if you don't stop this!" I said, hysterical. Ayano just ignored me and proceeded to rip my hospital gown apart and caress my chest.

"If you won't accept my love, then I'll need to do something that you'll remember forever," she said, starting to slip out of her shirt.

"GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU PSYCHO!" I yelled, slapping Ayano across the face. She held her cheek for a bit before looking back at me with an enraged face.

"I'm so sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. Please get off me so we can discuss this in a more calm way," I said, sheepishly. But, Ayano grabbed my neck in a fit of anger and pinned me against the ground. It felt like she was trying to choke me to death.

"WHY WON'T YOU JUST NOTICE ME?! IF I CAN'T HAVE YOU, THEN NO ONE CAN!" she screamed, grabbing the knife and holding it above me. But, before she could bring it down, an arm grabbed her from behind and wrestled her off of me. It was another nurse, who had unlocked the door to see what the racket was. A third nurse came in to help and wrenched the knife out of Ayano's grasp. Ayano struggled to get free but the two nurses were just too strong for her.

"Amanda! Call the police immediately! And someone get this boy some help!" the second nurse yelled into the hallway as Ayano continued to struggle. A fourth nurse came in to comfort me and see if I was injured. As the other nurses dragged Ayano away, I could hear her screams.

"SENPAI! DON'T LET THEM TAKE ME! YOU KNOW THAT I LOVE YOU! PLEASE! SENPAAAAIIII!" she screamed. And just like that, in one day, my girlfriend was killed, I was stabbed and nearly raped, and I felt totally helpless.

**Present day**

After a while, the six of us finally reached the infirmary. Amki set me down on the bed and the others started to search through the cabinets for any sort of medicine.

"There should be some kind of penicillin or something here right?" Nikki asked.

"Something like that. But it looks like all of the medical supplies have been cleared out," Eva said.

"You mean to tell me that the friggin' geniuses who built this place couldn't restock their meds every now and then?!" Amki said, still applying pressure on my wounds.

"There was a supply ship that was supposed to arrive, but I suppose that they got the transmission before they arrived and turned back," Celeste replied.

"Well, there is a supply room back here. Maybe they have extra meds," Odango said, pointing to a large door near the back of the room.

"Well, open it! We're wasting time!" Nikki said.

"OK, OK! Jeez, you're being so pushy, Nikki!" Odango said, opening the door. But, what was on the other side of the door scared her and alerted the rest of the team. It was another Infernite, except this one was large and spherical body crowned with horns that was floating off the ground. It's mouth was way larger that the other Infernites we saw earlier and it had one giant green eye in the middle of its head which was covered by armored plates. Underneath its body were a bunch of vestigial arms that looked practically useless. Odango stood there in fear, even as the monster opened its mouth and the inside of it began to glow purple, but Nikki leapt into action and stabbed it through the eye with her sword and following it up with a blast into its mouth from her arm cannon which blew out its back and splattered blue blood all over the floor. After Nikki pushed the creature's corpse off her sword, she and Odango went into the supply room.

"So, you got a weird name for that one?" Amki asked me.

"Cacodemon," I replied, coughing a bit. Odango ran back out with a worried look on her face.

"Well, that 'Cacodemon' must've eaten all of the medical supplies, because there's barely anything in there!" she said.

"And I think things are about to get worse," Eva said from the doorway. Sure enough, we started to hear snarling again, which got louder with every passing second.

"Again with these things! How do they even know where to go?" Amki asked.

"It could be a number of things. Sound is one. The smell of blood is another," Odango replied.

"Odango, close the door!" Celeste said. Odango did just that right before the Imps could get through the door.

"Are you sure that there isn't some sort of medical bot or something here?" Nikki asked with a worried look on her face as she held my hand.

"Or better yet, a defense system?" Amki chimed in.

"I'm looking right now! I can't guarantee I'll find within the first few seconds!" Odango said, searching through the files on her wrist. A loud bang came from the door, no doubt from the Infernites outside.

"Well, you got futuristic tech, right? You should be able to use that!" Amki said, getting into a stance. Odango kept searching through the files until she finally found something.

"Wait, here's something here. Project… Praetor?"

"What the hell is that?" Nikki asked, nearly dodging a clawed hand from and Imp that came through the door.

"It looks to be some sort of mech defense system. Perhaps it could buy us some time to find some medical supplies for Max," Celeste said.

"Well, it's worth a shot!" Odango said, pressing a button to activate it. Nothing happened at first but, without any warning, the bed I was on sprang to life, cuffing my wrists and ankles and trapping me inside it like a coffin.

"Max! No!" Nikki said outside the bed. I could hear her banging on the outside.

"What just happened?" Celeste asked.

"I don't know! I don't even think that WAS me!" Odango said. I could hear Amki audibly struggling to try and get the bed open.

"Seriously?! How come everything in this damn place has metals stronger than me?!" she asked. As the others outside tried to get me out, a scanner went over my body and then a trio of tentacled needles injected some sort of serum into my wounded side. The pain was too great that I couldn't help but yell in pain.

"MAX!" Nikki yelled, trying again to open the bed. I looked down to my side in my pain and saw that my wound was healing rapidly until it looked like nothing happened. Then, a group of mechanical parts placed some kind of armor starting around my legs.

"Guys, those Infernites are about to break through that door. We should take shelter in the supply room!" I heard Odango say.

"No! I'm not leaving him!" Nikki protested.

"Nikki, there is nothing we can do! We need to retreat!" Celeste said.

"Then go! I'm staying here!"

"Nikki… Go," I said.

"Max, baby, no. I'm not leaving you!" Nikki said.

"If you stay here, you'll die. I promise, I'll be right behind you."

"That's a whole load of crap and you know it!"

"Nikki. Please… go," I pleaded. I couldn't tell, but I had a feeling that Nikki was probably crying outside the bed. She angrily punched the bed one more time.

"Damn you!" she said.

"I love you. Now, go!" I said. All I could hear after that were the sounds of a door closing, metal tearing, and the growls of Infernites getting closer to the bed before the armor formed a helmet around my head, blocking out my vision.

**Nikki's perspective**

We left him in there. We just LEFT HIM. I leaned my head against the door, crying while the others looked on. Nobody said anything, possibly because they didn't know what to say.

"We just left him in there," I finally said. Odango walked up to me and showed me a heart rate monitor on her wrist.

"I have his vitals here, Nikki. He's doing fine right now," she said. I silently nodded my head and wiped the tears from my eyes.

"Nikki… I… I'm so sorry. I didn't… realize that the threat was this grave. I should have never asked you to come," Celeste said, looking upset. I immediately walked up to her and grabbed her hands.

"No. You didn't make the decision. We did. None this is your fault!" I said. Celeste gave me a slight smile. But her smile was broken when the Imps started to punch at the door.

"I hate to be that person, but does anybody see a way out of here?!" Amki asked.

"I don't think there is a way out. The supply room's door is made of a stronger and denser metal than the other doors. They can still break through, but it will take them longer to do so," Eva said.

"And how about that mech defense system?!"

"It says it's 90 percent complete! I don't know where it will be coming from or how long it will take to get here!" Odango said, panicking a bit.

"Then there's only one thing we can do," Celeste said, drawing her katanas.

"Prepare yourselves," I finished, taking out the BFG. The others took out their weapons and got into a ready stance.

"ETA to door breaking: 60 seconds!" Odango said, priming her arm cannons. One of the Imps tore a slight hole in the door, giving us a small at the danger outside.

"So, are you actually gonna use that?" Amki asked me.

"If I have to. Either way, I'm blowing all these bastards straight back to Hell," I replied, my finger on the BFG's trigger. Without any warning, another Imp hand tore through the door, widening the hole. We could see a bit into the room, but all of a sudden, the entire room filled up with steam, blocking out our vision in there.

"ETA to door breaking: 30 seconds!" Odango said. The Imps were doubling their efforts at breaking the door. But suddenly, two of them broke off roaring at something and disappearing into the steam. But I could kinda hear the sounds of tearing and crunching, but it was hard to tell with the Imp in front of the door, roaring at us.

"10 SECONDS!" Odango yelled. Just as the Imp was about to get through, an armored hand reached in from behind and grabbed it by the head, pulling it back. There was the sound of the Imp screeching in pain and the sound of a fleshy impact and then it all went quiet. I cautiously inched toward the door and peeked out. A sudden burst of Imp blood suddenly splashed over my face, making me fall backwards. But after that, it fell silent again.

"Odango… open the door," Celeste finally said. Odango did just that and the steam started to pour in. One of the Imps came crawling in, its lower half completely missing , before an armored foot crushed its head. I looked up and saw that the foot belonged to some kind of suit, which looked a lot like the Doom Slayer.

"Uh, OK. Is that thing a friendly or no?" Odango asked. I calmly stood up and walked closer to the Doom Slayer or whatever it was. But I looked to the side and noticed that the bed Max was on had opened again, which was the source of the steam. It took me a few seconds to realize who was inside the suit.

"Max?" I asked. Before he could reply, we heard more snarling coming from down the hallway. The Doom Slayer suit immediately turned around and activated a blade on its left arm and grabbed the shotgun from the ground. When the next horde of Imps ran into the room, all hell broke loose. The Doom Slayer went all out on the horde, slicing them in half, crushing them with his hands or underneath his foot, punching through their chests, or blasting them with the shotgun. After every single Imp was dead, the Doom Slayer crumpled to his knees, breathing heavily. I approached him and his helmet deformed, revealing the man in the suit. My boyfriend.

"You OK?" I asked.

"Well, I'm not dead. And I just killed an entire group of Imps by myself, so, I'm doin' fine," he replied, smiling. I smiled back and hugged him.

"You know, you look really hot in that suit," I added.

"Ah, that makes sense," Odango said.

"What?" Max asked.

"Project Praetor's not a mech defense system. It's a super suit. It increases your strength, speed, and durability while also heightening your senses," Celeste said.

"Huh. Well, that explains the adrenaline rush I just had. Any side effects?"

"None that are listed," Odango said, before an alarm started blaring.

"Aaaaand now have a new problem. The power generator at the top of this place has gone into overload mode."

"Wait a minute. Does that mean that…" Amki started to say.

"…If we can't shut it down, the entire facility will explode with us on it," Eva finished.

"Can you shut it down from here?" Max asked.

"I'm trying to, but someone has locked me out. We'd have to go to the roof and shut it down manually," Odango replied.

"Then we should get going. Is there an elevator that can take us up there?" I asked. Celeste checked her mini map again.

"There is. It's just down the hallway. If we can get to that, it should take us all the way to the control center," she said.

"Then what are we doing just standing here? Let's get to it!" Max said, standing up and grabbing my hand. After we had gotten to the elevator and started to go up, Celeste pulled up a schematic of the roof.

"This is how we shut down the power generator. There are three levers on three separate spires that need to be switched off. Once those spires are down, we can shut down the generator from the control room. If one of those spires is still on, we can't shut down the generator and we all die," she explained.

"Hey, uh, Celeste? I think there might be a slight flaw in that plan," Amki said. Sure enough, several feet above the generator was a giant portal in the middle of the sky. Falling out of it were hundreds of different Infernites, from Imps to Hell Knights.

"Was that there when we got here?" Max asked.

"Frankly, we couldn't even see outside when we got here. That could have been here when the invasion started," Eva said.

"It must be originating from Infernus! If we wish to halt the invasion, we must destroy that portal!" Celeste said. When we reached the floor we were going to, we ran down the hallway to a split corridor, one path leading to an airlock, the other to the control room.

"Listen, if something happens to you two…" Celeste started to say.

"You're acting like we're not comin' back. We've survived this far. We'll make it," Max said, putting a hand on Celeste's shoulder.

"You better. Or I'll have to live with my mistake."

"Let's not waste any more time! We got a planet to save!" Amki said. The four of them headed to the control room while me and Max stood in front of the airlock.

"How do we even begin to deal with something like this?" I asked. Max just took out his shotgun and smiled.

"Like we do in videogames. Except this time if we die, we die for real," he replied before his helmet reformed around his head. I just smiled back and created my own helmet and the two of us walked out into the chaos. Sure enough, three spires were not powering the generator, they were powering the portal itself. A bunch of Imps spotted us and began to charge, baring their teeth and claws.

"I'll take the spire on left! You take the one on the right!" Max said, charging headlong into the Imps and shooting them. I ran to the right and shot a few myself, but a few Cacodemons floated up and began spewing plasma balls at me. I was able to dodge a few, but one nearly grazed my leg and threw me a bit off course and over the ledge. But, as I was holding on, another Cacodemon was floating up toward me, about ready to bite me. But I jumped out of the way and grabbed onto its back, which earned me a ride up to where the lever was. After I jumped off of the Cacodemon's back and pulled the lever, I unleashed a missile barrage on the Cacodemons and Imps beneath and then got into a fight with a Baron of Hell, a giant, pink minotaur-like monster that was one of the higher ranking demons in DOOM. I stabbed it in the chest with my blade and transformed my other hand into a mace and bashed the creature's head in. After it fell to the ground, I ran over to the third spire, where Max already was.

"I beat you here," he said, jokingly.

"Technically, this… wasn't a race," I said, panting a bit. The two of us looked up the third spire, where the final lever was. There seemed to be a large gust of wind near the top, no doubt from the vortex of the portal.

"You wanna take this one or do you want me to do it?" Max asked me.

"Together. We do it together," I replied. Max nodded in agreement, but the metal floor in front of us was torn open and out of it crawled Ayano, who looked even more psychotic.

"Do I have your attention now, Senpai?! I don't know what it is that you wish for me to be, but you STILL refuse to pay me any attention! You hang around all those girls. WHY NOT ME?!" Ayano asked. Max just pointed his shotgun at her.

"Ayano, I've been wanting to say this for quite a while: I think you and I need to see other people," Max replied before he shot Ayano in the chest which made her fall backward over the ledge.

"'You and I need to see other people'? That's your big comeback?" I said after a while, jokingly.

"That was really all I could come up with," he replied. But, unfortunately, Ayano climbed back up and angrily lunged at me, pinning me to the ground. She stared at me through my visor, her mouth dripping blood.

"So you're the one that Senpai cares for more than me! With you gone, he'll finally turn his attention to me!" she yelled, her hands turning into claws. But before she could stab me, Max grabbed her by the arm and punched her off of me. As she was getting up, Max picked me up and put me on my feet.

"You flip the lever. I'll handle this," Max said. I nodded and started to climb the spire as Max fought Ayano.

**Celeste's perspective**

As the four of us moved down the hallway, I couldn't help but feel a dark presence as we progressed forward. When we reached the door to the control room, Eva and I took up position on one side and Amki and Odango took up position on the other side. After I opened the door, I pointed my rifle into the room. Standing at the terminal was the same red-haired human from before, Info-chan, who was watching Max fight his ex-lover, Ayano, through a window. Unfortunately, she must've known that we were coming, because her head turned toward us.

"I figured that you would be coming. So, come out. It's pointless for you to keep hiding," she said. I kept my rifle up and walked into the room.

"Step away from the terminal if you value your life," I said. But, Info just gave me a smirk, clearly mocking me.

"I'm afraid that I can't do that. There's still a lot of work that needs to be done here," she said. Odango, Eva, Amki, and I surrounded her to prevent her from escaping again. But Info didn't seem fazed by our approach.

"Final warning: Step away from that panel or I'll vaporize you," I said. Info just chuckled and leaned up against the control panel.

"You know, I must say, I am impressed with your progress. Not many aliens can stand against whole hordes of Infernites."

"Cut the crap, lady! What is this even about?!" Amki asked, impatiently.

"My, my. You Quadrasapiens are so dense. You need to learn to lighten up," Info replied before her hand burst into flames and she threw a fireball at Amki, knocking her back. As Odango helped her up, I pointed my rifle back at her.

"You're an Infernite," I said. Info just grinned.

"I am."

"So, this is about you finding more worlds for your kind to destroy? More food for them before they starve?!"

"Oh, no, no, no. It's much more than that. My superior is in search of an artifact on my home world. This portal is to ensure that he can get to it so he can begin," Info replied.

"Begin what?"

"His conquest. You can figure out the rest from there. Not that you'll be alive much longer to do so that is," Info said, charging up another fireball and throwing it at me. I dodged to the side and shot at her, but she jumped up and lunged at me, slicing my rifle in two. I took out my katanas and began to fight her in hand-to-hand combat. As this went on, Odango plugged up to the terminal and started to initiate the shutdown. Info caught sight of her, but Amki grabbed her by the head and threw her against the wall. Before she could get back up, Eva hit her with a concussive blast. I ran over to Odango's side as the others fought.

"How much sooner?" I asked.

"Third spire isn't down yet, but once it is, I can activate it immediately," Odango replied.

"Nikki, Max, we need that third spire down now!" I said through my comms.

"Working on it! I'm almost there!" Nikki replied. I looked to the side and saw Max fighting Ayano. It was remarkable, him standing up to that which he once feared. Before much time passed, Nikki had pulled the lever and Odango's wrist computer glowed green.

"And we are a go for launch!" Odango said, pushing a button on the HUD. The three spires suddenly pulsated an energy wave that shut down the generator which began to effect the portal. Flashes of lightning began to constantly strike random areas of the roof. One struck Ayano, who fell to the ground, not moving.

"The portal is shutting down! Max, Nikki, you need to get out of there, now!" I said.

"Copy that! Heading back to the airlock now!" Max said. Both he and Nikki started to make a run for the airlock, but Nikki was grabbed by Ayano who proceeded to try and stab Nikki through the head. Nikki, however, managed to dodge each of her attacks until Max was able to punch her off. But it did not take long for her to recover and start attacking again. A small alarm on Odango's wrist suddenly started blaring.

"Guys! Something's happening! The portal's about to collapse! You have two minutes to get out before it incinerates the roof!" Odango said.

"Forget about Ayano! You need to get out now!" I yelled. But, I had not realized that Info had snuck up behind me and stolen one of my katanas. Before I could react, she stabbed me through the shoulder and forced me to the ground. She stood over me, staring with her bright red eyes.

"No one is going anywhere. This place shall be your tomb! A new era has begun and we all have-!" she started. However, she could not finish as Max had fired his grappling hook and yanked her out of the window, pinning her to the ground. I heard the wind howling as Nikki continued to fight Ayano and Max held Info on the ground. All four of them didn't have time to react before a bright column of light shot down from the portal and engulfed them. After a while, the wind stopped howling and everything went quiet. I looked out of an unbroken window and saw that the entire roof had been melted and the portal was gone. But Max and Nikki were nowhere to be seen. Amki and Eva walked over to me as I started to tend to my wounds.

"They did it," Amki said.

"Odango. Are they… gone?" I asked. Odango took a look at her wrist and pulled up Max and Nikki's vital signs. They were still there.

"They're alive. I guess the beam transported them somewhere," she said.

"Max? Nikki? Are you there?" I said over the comms. There was no response. I tried again.

"Max. Nikki. Please respond," I said. I heard a faint crackling and then Max's voice.

"Celeste? Is that you?" he asked.

"Oh, thank God. Are you all right?"

"I need to get back to on that. I'm in free fall right now."

"Free fall?"

**Max's perspective**

The wind was rushing against my visor. Wherever we were, we were transported WAY above the ground. A few feet below me, Nikki was falling slightly unconscious. It was a bit of a close call, but I was able to grab her before we crashed into the ground, forming a giant crater. Nikki fell to my side and suddenly breathed a gasp of air. Both of our helmets deformed and we laid on the ground, panting.

"I changed my mind. I wanna go home now," Nikki said.

"I think it's too late for that," I said, looking up at the sky. It was a bright orange with a lot of heavy clouds.

"Max, are you alright?" Celeste asked through our comms.

"Yeah, we're fine. And we're breathing somehow," I said.

"Breathing? I told you, Infernus' atmosphere would burn your lungs within seconds!"

"Maybe we hit an air pocket. Sky looks nice. And the moon's pretty close."

"Infernus doesn't have a moon," Celeste said. Wait, what?

"Wait, what?" Nikki asked, sitting up.

"Infernus has no moons, just like Venus. Whatever planet you're on, it's not Infernus," Celeste replied. Confused, I got up, strapped the BFG to my back, picked up my shotgun, and walked out of the crater with Nikki following behind me. The whole landscape DID look a bit like a volcanic landscape, but there were also a bunch of floating islands being held together by chains and some of the rivers were either blood or lava. But we also saw metal structures. Some of them had an alien language on them, others were like buildings.

"Celeste, there are a bunch of buildings here. And some of these signs have alien language we can't read," Nikki said.

"My God. The portal wasn't coming from Infernus. It was coming from GAIA PRIME," Celeste said.

"It's not Gaia Prime anymore," I said as me and Nikki looked out over the landscape.

"This is Hell."

**To Be Continued…**


	3. Chapter 3: Shores of Hell

HuniePop Space Adventures

Chapter 3: Shores of Hell

The halls were filled with the screeching of the Imps as we made our way to the survivors. Despite the overwhelming odds, the creatures were no match for us. Amki's sheer strength scattered the group while Odango targeted them individually with her arm cannons. After we killed the whole group, we opened the door to reveal the survivors that they were after.

"Everyone, clear out! We're getting out of here!" I said. As the scientists cleared out, another Imp rounded the corner and spotted the feast. However, Eva had spotted the Imp and blasted it with a concussion blast which I followed up by decapitating it with my katanas.

"Hey, uh, Celeste. I know that we were supposed to save the survivors, but aren't we also supposed to be saving Max and Nikki too?" Amki asked.

"We will, Amki. Taking the survivors out of here is what we were assigned to do. Max and Nikki should be able to hold out until we get them to Outpost 13," I replied.

"Oh, sure. Because being on a destroyed planet with a bunch of Infernites isn't a big deal."

"They have weapons and experience. But after we drop off the survivors, we're headed straight for Gaia Prime!" I said. I immediately turned on my comms and radioed Max as we started teleporting onto the Centurion.

**Max's perspective**

"Another one! On your left!" I yelled out to Nikki. She turned and blasted another Imp in the face while I was busy warding off a Pinky. It's strength nearly overwhelmed me, but I reached down and slit its throat with my arm blade, killing the creature. After the Pinky went down, a Cacodemon spewed a plasma ball at me, but I fired my grappling hook at it, reeled myself in, and punched it straight through the eye. The Cacodemon then exploded, blue blood spraying all over the place and I finally got to relax. Surrounding us were the bodies of the previous Infernites that tried to kill us. One wave was bad, but we got hit by at least 6 ever since we arrived on Gaia Prime. Nikki was panting extremely hard, not just from the heat of battle, but from the heat wave that was passing through the area.

"Nik? Do you need to sit down?" I asked.

"I'm good. It's just the heat's getting to me," Nikki said, sitting on one of Infernite bodies. I rubbed the sweat off of my head and looked out over horizon. While the sky looked very beautiful, the rest of the landscape didn't match at all. The land was scorched by volcanic and Infernite activity and instead of birds, a few Cacodemons were flying out across the sky. After a few minutes, Celeste checked in over the comms.

"Max, are you there?" she asked.

"Yeah, we're here. And we've been up to our necks in Infernites ever since we got here. But we're fine," I replied.

"I apologize for the delays. I promise that we will be there once we have dropped off the survivors."

"We're fine. We've been holding our own, but we're running out of options."

"Could you guys PLEASE come get us? I don't know how much more we can handle," Nikki said.

"Just hold your position and wait until we are able to find you," Celeste said.

"I don't think we can. This place keeps shifting around like the land's alive," I said.

"Alright then. See if you can keep moving and find a place where you can stay. We'll be there soon."

"Copy that. Over and out," I said. I sat beside Nikki as we both looked up at the sky, the moon of Gaia Prime just looming in the distance.

"You know, you were right. This place is Hell," Nikki said.

"Well, maybe it is. But, hey, we get through this, were gonna have some stories to tell," I replied.

"Yeah, IF. I'm beat. If we get jumped by another group of Infernites, I'm pretty sure that we'll get either hurt or killed," Nikki said. I suddenly heard the earth beginning to crack, signaling that we had to move again. I strapped the BFG around Nikki's body, and then picked her up and positioned her onto my back.

"Max, what are you doing?" Nikki asked. I turned back and smiled at her.

"You're gonna need your strength for later. But for now, I'll carry you," I said. Nikki immediately began to blush.

"Omigosh. This is so embarrassing."

"Well, you're lucky that there's no one around!" I said before running forward and grappling onto one of the floating rocks.

**Celeste's perspective**

By the time we reached Outpost 13, the paramedics were at the landing pad, ready to take the survivors in. As soon as we opened the cargo doors, the paramedics rushed onboard to help the injured. Amki and Eva helped with escorting critically injured survivors while Odango checked the status of each injury.

"Please exit it an orderly fashion. Do not rush. Please follow the paramedics to the med bay," I said. As I was directing the survivors, one of the scientists pulled me aside.

"Listen, there's something that you must know. That red haired girl… she is…" she started to say.

"An Infernite. I have seen her power in action already," I said.

"She's more than that. This data chip, it has everything you need to know about her and her experiments," the scientist said, handing me a data chip. I smiled and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you for your help, my friend. I promise that you are all in good hands now," I said. The scientist then rushed off with the others as I examined the chip.

"Experiments?" Eva asked, walking up to me.

"Perhaps there is more about this Info-chan than we realize. Odango!"

"Yes ma'am!" Odango said, running up to me.

"I need you to see what's on this chip. Perhaps maybe we might find some useful information on our Infernite," I said, tossing the chip to her.

"Yeah, but what if that thing's rigged?" Amki implied. Odango stared at the chip for a minute and then a ding sound went off.

"Scan complete! This data chip is 100% free of viruses, worms, trojans, and explosives!" she said. Amki just gave her a confused look.

"You have anti-virus software?" she asked.

"Of course! What computer doesn't?"

"Enough chattering. We have friends on a dead planet that need our help!" I said, boarding the ship.

"I'll get to crackin' the code!" Odango said. Before long, we set a course to Gaia Prime and blasted off. On our way there, Odango had finished unlocking the secrets of the chip and sent them to the main HUD.

"A lot of interesting stuff on there. That scientist must've been obsessed with Info-chan," Odango said.

"Dangerously obsessed," I added. I began to read the data as we sped our way to Max and Nikki.

**Max's perspective**

The constant shifting of the land was a bit unnerving and disorientating, but me and Nikki were getting through it all right. Well, granted, I was carrying Nikki through most of it but the air was starting to get a bit cooler. As we moved along, I spotted a peculiar looking ruin and made my way to it. Once inside, I set Nikki down on the rocks and stretched a bit. There weren't any Infernites around so we could relax for a little bit before moving on. Looking around, I saw that the ruins were some kind of temple. There was a half-destroyed shrine sitting in the middle of the place, but other than that, there really wasn't anything. That is, until I turned around and saw a mural on the wall. It showed some sort of alien with the face of Ultron, but it had slightly long hair, was dressed in robes and clawed hands wielding some sort of energy.

"What the hell?" I asked myself.

"What's wrong?" Nikki asked, having woken up.

"Nothing. Just this mural. Something feels… ominous about it," I replied. Nikki walked closer to inspect the wall.

"Some kind of prophecy?"

"Maybe."

"About what?"

"Probably some being of infinite power or something like that," I said. Suddenly, my comms crackled to life and Celeste spoke up.

"Max, Nikki! We're making our final approach to Gaia Prime. I need you both out in the open!" she said. Nikki and I both bolted outside into the open and looked up. We couldn't see past the dense clouds, but we saw the faint glow of the Centurion for a brief second.

"Celeste, can you see us?" I asked.

"I have a fix on your location now. Odango, fire up the teleporters!" Celeste said.

"Uh, about that…" Odango said.

"That doesn't sound good," Nikki replied.

"Yeah, the teleporters aren't working."

"What the hell do you mean they're not working?" Amki yelled over the comms.

"No, the teleporters are working, but they can't get a fix on your location," Eva said.

"Is it the circuit board?" I asked.

"No, everything on the ship is working. But I am getting readings of an electromagnetic field coming from the surface of the planet," Celeste replied. I looked out into the distance. Coming out of the storm were a few bolts of red lightning. But I noticed that here was some kind of pattern. A few bolts struck some random parts of the landscape, but I noticed that there was one spot that the lightning was striking constantly: between two mountains in a valley area.

"There," I said, pointing to the valley.

"What?" Nikki asked.

"That's gotta be where the field is coming from."

"How do you figure?" Celeste asked.

"Lightning never strikes the same place twice. Assuming this place has the same rules as Earth," I replied.

"Well, good news, it seems you're right. That area's got a lot of electromagnetic interference," Odango said.

"And the bad news?" Nikki asked.

"That place is LITERALLY crawling with Infernites. Whatever's down there, they must like it a lot to be hanging around it in a large crowd."

"So, if they head there, there's a possibility that they'll be overwhelmed?" Eva asked.

"I predict a 50-50 chance that they'll survive. Sorry for the bad odds, guys," Odango replied sheepishly.

"But they have the BFG in their possession. If it's as destructive as they say, their chances should be greater," Celeste said.

"Yeah, but I've never seen the thing fire, so I can't give a higher percentage!"

"How many shot does the BFG hold?" Amki asked.

"Four. But I'll only need one to wipe out however large that group is," I said.

"There's something else you should know. We were handed a data chip concerning Info-chan from a scientist," Celeste said.

"Wait, Info-chan isn't human?"

"She was a scientist from Gaia Prime who was known for her extensive research of Infernus and its inhabitants. Mainly their ability to survive in hostile climates. But her research took a deadly turn when she injected herself with the blood of an Imp. After Gaia Prime was destroyed, she was sent along with a few others to look for any suitable planets where the refugees could live in peace. Unfortunately, her experiments finally took over her and she killed the seekers she was with."

"So, Info-chan is half Infernite?" Nikki asked.

"Correct. The scientists on Ares did not know that she was like that until it was too late. It says here that she took a small handful of humans with her to Ares and did tests on them," Celeste said.

"And I'm guessing that Ayano was among them?" I asked.

"She was. Info was testing out a new strand of Infernite DNA, but this dossier doesn't have any information on what effect it had on Ayano or what exactly her end goal was."

"Well, look, I appreciate you bringing this to our attention, but we'll worry about that later. We need to get to the valley and destroy whatever's making the pulse wave," I replied. But before me or Nikki could move a muscle, the ground began to shake and the earth began to crack.

"What's going on? Is everything alright?" Celeste asked. As the ground continued to crack open, I heard the growling of a large creature coming from the ground, steam coming out of the cracks.

"Respond! What is it?" Celeste asked again. The cracks moved past me and Nikki and opened up an enormous hole in the ground. And what came out of that hole defied all logic and horrified us. It was an incredibly large Infernite, at least double the size of a Baron of Hell. It had pale, pinkish skin that was covered in a natural armor that covered the majority of its body. Its large head had four small, beady eyes and a large, gaping mouth and on its head were two large, sharp horns. The creatures right arm has a large blade-like bone that is located on the wrist and its left arm has been replaced with a rocket launcher. The foot looked like it had been repaired with mechanical components and the creature stood about 20 feet tall. It stared down on us menacingly and gave a large growl.

"Cyberdemon," Nikki said in horror. The monster roared and aimed its cannon at us, shooting a powerful beam that knocked the two of us back. We hid behind a rock at began shooting at it, but the shots proved to be ineffective against its armor. The Cyberdemon then inhaled deeply and breathed fire at the two of us, but the rock we were hiding behind provided us with protection.

"I don't remember it ever doing that in the games!" I said. The Cyberdemon then slammed its fist on the ground, which caused the ground to crack even more. Nikki almost fell into the ravine below, but I grabbed her hand and pulled her back up. We tried to shoot it again, but all we managed to hit was the soft skin of its face. The creature roared in pain and swung with its blade, creating a wall of fire that just missed us and nearly pushed us over the edge.

"OK, this whole 'shoot it until it dies' thing isn't working out for us! Do you have plan B?" Nikki asked. While the Cyberdemon continued to shoot at the rock we were hiding behind, a bunch of Cacodemons came floating out of the cracks.

"We hitch a ride," I said, holding onto Nikki and firing my grappling hook at one of the Cacodemons. The chain yanked us up into the air just as the Cyberdemon finally destroyed the rock, but it soon turned its attention to the Cacodemon herd. It tried in vain to shoot us down, but we got too far out of its range for it to shoot and it roared at us in frustration. For a few miles, it was smooth flying. Unfortunately, another Cacodemon spotted us and immediately attacked. We jumped off just as it sank its fangs into the Cacodemon we were on. I launched my grappling hook at a nearby floating island, but the Cacodemon circled back around at us. Before it could bite us, the Cacodemon we were riding on came back and began attacking the second one. Both began fighting among themselves as we landed a ways away from them. Nikki was a bit shaken but she regained her composure after a short while.

"That was.. awesome," she said. I smiled at her.

"Max, are you still there? I lost you for a second," Celeste said.

"We're fine. We just got jumped by the mother of all Infernites," I said.

"Is that a figure of speech?"

"Er… never mind. Also, can you look up something for me on that chip? An Infernite with metal parts and a rocket launcher on its left arm," I said. There was a short pause and then Celeste broke the silence.

"Found it. It's called 'Subject 01'. Apparently, it was Info's greatest creation. It's an extremely large Infernite that she found on Gaia Prime during the invasion. The creature was hard to take down, but after it was killed, Info pieced the creature back together and turned it into a living weapon. When the scientists deemed it to dangerous, she put it back in the very place it had destroyed," she said.

"Yeah, we just saw it. Guess it was starving all this time," Nikki said.

"There's more. It says here that it was sent there on a mission. The objective was to 'locate the artifact'," Eva added.

"What artifact?" I asked.

"It doesn't say. But I'm willing to guess that this 'artifact' is the root cause of the electromagnetic field," Celeste said.

"Whatever it is, Info seemed to be obsessed with it," Amki said.

"How so?" Nikki asked.

"She keeps mentioning some sort of 'Master'. As if she was working with someone who really wanted the artifact."

"Wait, do you mean to tell me that-?" I started to ask.

"The invasion on Ares was a feint. Info stated that the portal was so her Master could get the artifact from her home planet, but…" Celeste said.

"It was from Gaia Prime," Nikki finished.

"Well, listen, we're almost there. We may lose reception, seeing as were headed into the storm. We'll contact you once it's down," I said.

"Understood. We'll keep the comms open. And Max?" Celeste said.

"Don't die?" I finished. I heard Celeste chuckle.

"That. But also, keep Nikki safe," she said.

"Always. Over and out," I replied. Nikki and I made our way closer and closer to the valley until we finally came to a large stairway. At the top was the entrance to our destination where there was a large wall of clouds swirling from the storm.

"Ready?" Nikki asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be," I replied. We started making our way up the stairs, combating the strong winds as we got up halfway. But as we got there, I saw another mural. In fact, it was a whole set. The first one showed the robed person from the mural before, except he was now holding a sword of some kind. The second showed a completely different person in armor holding a different sword. The third showed the two individuals locked in combat. As I was curiously inspecting the murals, Nikki came back down and grabbed my arm.

"Max! Are you OK?" she yelled, trying to talk over the wind.

"Yeah, I'm alright! How about you?" I said.

"I'm fine! Come on, we're almost there!" Nikki said, as we continued up the stairway. As we reached the top, the winds were blowing so hard that they nearly knocked us off the stairs and into the rivers of blood below. Nikki held onto me to avoid being blown away by the wind. Unfortunately, the winds were proving to be too much and I fired my grappling hook into the wall above so we could avoid getting blown away. When we did finally reach the top, the winds immediately died down and me and Nikki stopped to catch our breath before staring out into the valley.

**Nikki's perspective**

No words. There were absolutely no words to describe the scene that was in front of us. In the valley below, the place was crawling with Infernites of every type that we had faced, from Imps to the Barons of Hell. In the middle of the entire group was a stairway leading to a pedestal. In the side of the pedestal was some kind of large dagger with a handle that looked like a skull and lower part modeled after some kind of creature's eye. Every now and then, a bolt of lightning struck the dagger which seemed to build up its power. But what was most disturbing was that not a single Infernite was walking near it. They were just walking around the base of where the dagger was, as if they were guarding it.

"Well, we found the artifact," Max said.

"Yeah, but how in the hell do we get to it?" Nikki asked. Max just grabbed the BFG off of my back and smiled.

"We have this, remember?" he said. He got up and took my hand as we slid down the hillside and stood in front of the entire horde of Infernites. He pointed the BFG at the horde and as soon as one saw us, Max fired. A burst of green plasma energy shot from the BFG and the second it got into range of one of the Infernites, several beams shot from the main shot and vaporized each member of the horde as it passed through, turning them to nothing but blood and ash. The shot finally landed a direct hit on a Baron of Hell, turning it to ash and creating a shockwave which vaporized the Infernites behind it. Max immediately grabbed my hand and the two of us ran up the stairs towards the artifact. However, we heard the sound of cracking coming from behind. Both of looked back and saw the Cyberdemon breaking through one of the mountain walls, another horde of all sorts of Infernites charging toward us. Max and I immediately began firing at the horde, killing several before they even got to us. However, the Infernites had numbers and the sheer size and strength of the Cyberdemon on their side and they caught up with us in no time. Max fired another shot from the BFG which again vaporized the horde before the shot landed on the Cyberdemon, which caused it to fall backward and flatten some of the members of the horde behind it.

"Max, get the artifact! I'll hold them off!" I said, firing shots from my arm cannon. Max immediately grabbed the artifact and struggled to pull it out of the pedestal as I continued to shoot down the Infernites. But, as I fought on, the Cyberdemon got back up and fired a blast from its arm cannon at the ceiling above, causing rocks to fall all around the pedestal. As I stumbled, one rock fell on my left arm, leaving me with only one arm cannon left to fight with. The lightning in the air was becoming more and more consistent, striking everywhere around the pedestal and killing Infernites left and right. I tried to get free of the rocks using my other arm cannon, but a clawed hand grabbed it and forced it down to my side. It was Ayano, looking more scarred and bloodthirsty than she did before. I tried in vain to shoot her, but she crushed the machinery in my right arm, disabling me from creating any weapons to use. As the Infernites ran past us to try and grab Max, Ayano grabbed me by the neck and raised her claws into the air, looking at me with a gleeful smile.

"Don't worry. I'll take good care of him when you're gone," she said with a slight chuckle. But before she could bring her claws down, Max finally wrenched the artifact free of the pedestal and unleashed a large electric shockwave which vaporized the Infernites close to him and blew Ayano away from me. However, a bolt of lightning came down and struck Max and caused him to collapse on the ground next to me. Only a few Infernites aside from the Cyberdemon and Ayano remained and they charged toward us, baring their teeth. I still couldn't move and my suit's right arm was rendered completely useless. I felt like this was it. We were going to die on this hell-ridden planet and the only trace of our existence would just simply disappear. But Max suddenly jolted to life and stood up with the artifact in his hand. However, as I looked up, I saw that he was a bit different. His hair had turned white, his eyes were now red with black sclerae, and some of his blood vessels were poking through his now pale skin, flowing with electricity. As the Infernites got closer, he stared at the artifact and grabbed it with both hands and bright red blade with runes on it sprang up from the artifact. As soon as he collided with the first Infernite, all hell broke loose. Max used the sword to slash, rip, and tear through the Infernites, crushing a few with his hands and decapitating several others. It felt a bit… unnerving. Sure, it looked like it was still Max, but it felt like he was an animal, unchained and ready to kill everything in front of him. Like he had no conscience and no shame in what he was doing and he was willing to destroy everything. When he got to the Cyberdemon, the beast fired a bunch of rockets at him, which directly hit him, but they barely even left a scratch on him. Max then jumped up and sliced the creature's right arm off, causing the Cyberdemon to roar in pain. It then inhaled and breathed fire at him, but Max just simply brushed off the flames, not even flinching. The Cyberdemon then attacked with its left arm, its bony claw narrowly missing Max. He then ran up the creature's arm and dove into its chest, the sword easily slicing through its skin and cutting a hole through. The Cyberdemon gurgled a bit before it collapsed to the ground while Max stared at it, as if he was admiring his handiwork. But, Ayano came up from behind him and knocked the dagger out of his hand. Unfortunately, Max simply punched her away and drew his arm blade. Ayano furiously screamed and charged at him, but he drove his arm blade into her stomach, causing her to cough up blood. Max stood between me and Ayano, relentlessly protecting me from Ayano's unyielding rage until he finally wrestled her to the ground and put both of his hands in her stomach wound. He suddenly started to pull as Ayano screamed in terror and flailed in vain to get free. But her punches did nothing against Max and after a while, Ayano quit screaming all together as Max tore her completely in half. He dropped both halves of her and began panting heavily, his hair, eyes and skin returning to normal.

**Max's perspective**

I have no idea what I just did, but it felt wrong. I stared in horror at the carnage all around me: the hundreds of dead Infernites either crushed or decapitated, the Cyberdemon missing its arm and most of its chest, and Ayano completely split in half. And yet, I was conscious for the entire thing. What in the HELL was going on with me? The sound of footsteps broke my thoughts. I looked behind me and saw Info-chan holding the artifact and looking around at the carnage.

"Well, I must say, this is quite an interesting development," she said.

"What… the hell… IS that thing?" I asked, pointing to the artifact. Info-chan just smiled held it up.

"The people of my old world called this trinket 'The Crucible'. In the right hands, one could easily use this to vanquish their enemies. Of course, it's power is so destructive, my people foolishly thought it would be best to hide it from those who would use its power for evil.," she replied.

"Like you?" I asked. Info smiled again, activated the Crucible, and used her foot to flip me onto my back. My energy felt completely spent, so I didn't have the strength to get back up.

"Well, no. Not me per se. My master was meant to retrieve this himself. But you've done the honors for him."

"Who is he? And what does he want?"

"Oh, Maxwell. He's the sole ruler of this galaxy. It's just that no one knows it yet. There's a war coming to the universe that will see the beginning of his rule. And, I'm so sorry to say, you won't be alive to witness it," Info said before she raised the Crucible above her head. But, before either of us could react, the sound of a blaster shot went off and Info's look of glee turned into a look of horror. The Crucible slipped out of her hands and I looked up to see that her forehead now had a giant hole between her eyes. Nikki still had a normal blaster on her and she used it to shoot Info through the head. Info's lifeless body slumped to the ground, dead, blood dripping from her forehead. I got up and moved the boulder off of Nikki's arm and the two of us hugged each other in relief. Nikki looked at me and put her hand on my cheek, giving me a slight look of fear.

"You scared the crap out of me," she said. I smiled and kissed her.

"That makes two of us," I replied.

"Max? Nikki? Are you there?" Celeste said suddenly.

"Yeah, we're here."

"Oh, thank goodness. The storm has died down and the electromagnetic field is down and the teleporters now have your location. We're ready to beam you up," Celeste said. I picked up my shotgun and the Crucible while Nikki grabbed the BFG.

"Hey, Celeste? I need you to prep the med bay for me," I said into my comms.

"Why? Are you injured?" Celeste asked.

"It's not for me," I replied, as Nikki walked over to see what I was talking about. Down the stairs a bit was Ayano's body. Somehow, inside that shell of the creature she was, was her own body, naked, fully human and unconscious. Celeste beamed us up and I took Ayano's body to the med bay, lying her in one of the beds. The heart monitor slowly beeped to life and a respirator attached itself to Ayano's face, helping her breathe. Celeste walked over to me holding a tablet.

"I found exactly what Info's test was. Apparently, some Infernites act as a shell to a host, trapping them inside," she said. I sadly looked down at Ayano's body and put my hand on her head.

"Hopefully she'll sleep better now," I said. Back in the cockpit, Odango immediately hugged me when she saw me.

"So glad that you're both OK!" she said.

"Heh. Me too," I replied, hugging her back.

"Nikki, is your arm alright?" Eva asked.

"Yeah. Except my suit's right arm is busted," Nikki replied.

"Not necessarily. The suit is capable of self-repairing itself. It should be fully repaired in an hour or two," Celeste said. Nikki breathed a sigh of relief.

"You know, it would have been a lot easier if we were down there with you," Amki said, stretching a bit.

"Well, it's not exactly a hot vacation spot down there," Nikki said, laughing.

"Yeah, you're right. But, hey, that jobs done and done!"

"Yeah… but this isn't over," I said, staring at the Crucible. Everyone turned to face me with confused looks.

"How so?" Celeste asked.

"Someone went to a lot of trouble to try and find this thing. Info said a war was coming to this universe. Whatever he's planning, it's bigger than any of us. And we need to stop it," I said. An eerie silence fell over the entire bridge. After a while, Celeste spoke up.

"Then so be it. Whoever this 'Master' is, if you wish to stop him, I will gladly follow you into battle," she said.

"Well, of course I will too," Nikki said.

"I mean, what the hell? If we're gonna take on a job to save the universe, then hell yeah, you can count me in!" Amki said.

"Plus, we're a team. And, as I recall, a team sticks together," Eva stated.

"I may predict a 40% chance that we will succeed in this fight for the universe, but I'm willing to bring that number up to 100 for you guys!" Odango added. I smiled and turned back to Celeste.

"So, where to now?" I asked.

"Wherever we're needed. The universe is a big place. And I'm sure that we'll find a way to bring peace to the universe. Whenever. Wherever," Celeste said as she pulled the lever and we zoomed off to our next destination.

**3****rd**** person perspective**

Back on the planet of Gaia Prime, two Imps hovered over the dead body of Info-chan, cautiously examining it. Before they could react, a bright flash of light appeared behind them and standing there was a robed figure. The two Imps lunged at the figure, but the flash of his red eyes made the two back down in terror. The figure approached Info's body, staring at her wound.

"You have done well, Info. I am most pleased with your progress. Yet, I did not expect this sort of outcome. The human… he holds great power within his grasp. And yet, the path toward our goal has become somewhat easier. And thank you for that," the figure said. One of his clawed hands then reached out and telekinetically grabbed both of Ayano's demon halves, reducing them to blood. He then guided the blood to Info's body, which began to absorb it, clearing her head of her wound.

"Still, you are of no use to me if you are dead. So, rise my pupil. Rise for the sake of this universe and for the sake of our goal. The war has begun. And there is much to be done," the figure said as Info's eyes opened.

**To Be Continued…**


	4. Chapter 4: Welcome to the Jungle

HuniePop Space Adventures

Chapter 4: Welcome to the Jungle

I stared at the Crucible with determined eyes. Whatever it was that happened to me back on Gaia Prime, it was still inside me. Constantly growing and building power. Something about it felt evil. It felt bloodthirsty. It felt… free.

"Max?" Nikki said, breaking my thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"You've been staring at that thing for 10 minutes straight. Is everything OK?" Nikki asked, sitting beside me. I just smiled and gently hugged her.

"I'm fine. Just trying to think," I said. Nikki just gave me a sad look.

"Are we gonna talk about what happened on Gaia Prime? It looked like you weren't in control back there."

"There's nothing to talk about."

"Yes there is. You pulled the Crucible out of the pedestal and then you got struck by lightning. After that, your hair, eyes, and skin changed and you fought like there was this monster inside of you, begging to be let out."

"All that rage. It felt like I was partially in control. But, it felt like someone else was pulling the strings. And yet, it felt like freedom… somehow," I said.

"Max, what is going on with you?" Nikki asked. I smiled and began to gently caress her head.

"Listen, whatever's going on, we'll figure it out together. I promise that you won't lose me," I said. Nikki smiled and kissed me.

"Max. Nikki. You're needed on the bridge. We're nearing our destination," Celeste's voice said over the intercom. We got up and went to the bridge, where the ship exited hyper space and stopped in front of a green planet. It looked a bit like Earth, except the landmasses were a bit bigger than on Earth. And there didn't seem to be a single trace of any sort of building.

"What planet is this?" I asked.

"Do you remember the Slashers you fought when you first met me?"

"Yeah, they're from the planet Saurian, right?" Nikki asked.

"Well, this is that very planet. The planet of Saurian," Celeste said.

"And we're here why now? I thought that this place was like a nature preserve," Amki asked. Celeste pulled up a hologram of the planet on the center table and it zoomed in on a small village of sorts.

"We have received word that the local's village gardens were hit by an unknown army of unknown origin. They've been flattening the jungle with tank-like weapons, burning the trees, and upsetting the local wildlife. To make matters worse, they seem to have some sort of weaponized creature with them," Celeste explained. A video of a dinosaur-like creature killing the locals was then shown. The creature had the head of an Allosaurus, but its hands had a fourth finger that looked like a thumb and it had a blade-like tail. Aside from that, the creature was about 50 feet long, had pale bluish skin, and three rows of spikes running down its back.

"What species is it?" I asked.

"No one knows. But it does have DNA from other species such as the Slasher and the Pack Runner or, as they're called on Earth, Allosaurus. To make matters worse, it can camouflage and shoot barbs out of its tail. Its been rampaging across the country and killing everything in sight. The villagers are able to hold their own in a battle, but not against something like this. If we don't deal with this, the results could be catastrophic."

"Question: this army… when did they first show up?" Odango asked.

"Roughly two days ago."

"And I'm guessing that this is connected to Info's attack on Ares?" I asked.

"In part, but it's still unclear at this point if the attack on Ares and the attack on Saurian are connected in some way. But what's clear is this: if we don't deal with this attack, thousands will die," Celeste said.

"So, what's the call?" Nikki asked. Celeste pulled up a map with a route planned out.

"We'll be teleporting to here: Herbivore Valley. From there, we'll make our way through the jungle to the village. Our goal is to take the army by surprise and attack from behind," she explained.

"Why can't we just teleport to the front lines? We have the kind of weapons to take out this sort of thing, right?" Amki asked.

"Because we'd risk losing the element of surprise. Plus, if it gets more bloody than we expect, a lot of the villagers could get hurt in the crossfire," I said.

"Plus, that 'Diabolus Rex' is probably also using stealth as its weapon, given the fact that it can camouflage," Nikki added. Everyone except me gave her confused looks.

"Diabolus Rex?" Amki asked.

"What? I can't give an unknown creature a cool name?" Nikki asked. I smiled and drew her closer to me.

"I think it's a good name for it," Eva said.

"Well, the Diabolus Rex should be our second-to-top priority. Protecting the locals is our first. If we can kill the Diabolus Rex or lure it away from the village, we can focus our efforts on the army and get the villagers to safety," Celeste said.

"Any questions?" I asked. No answer. "Suit up."

"Dude, what is that even from? Who says that?" Amki asked.

"Stephan Amell. From 'Arrow'," I replied. She gave me a confused look.

"It's a TV show on Earth. It's not important right now," Nikki said as we headed to the armory. While I was there, I began to stare at the Crucible again, trying to examine it more closely. Nikki once again broke my thoughts.

"Max, seriously, the more you stare at that thing, the more worried I get," she said.

"I'll be fine. I promise," I said.

"That's a whole load of crap and you know it! Max, something has been wrong ever since we got that thing! You probably don't want to admit it, but I can tell! And that's what worries me-!" Nikki started to say before I drew her in for a kiss. After the kiss, I hugged her tightly.

"That's such a dirty trick," she said.

"How so?" I asked.

"Every time I worry about you, you kiss me. I swear, it's like you think I have no right to worry."

"You have every right to worry about me. Look, whatever it is that's inside me, we'll find out how to stop it and we'll do it together, OK?" I said. Nikki looked back up at me and smiled.

"OK," she said. After we had gotten our weapons and armor ready, we beamed down into Herbivore Valley and immediately came face-to-face with one of the planet's creatures. It's three horns and large frill were unmistakable. A Triceratops, one of the most recognizable dinosaurs from the Cretaceous Period. We stood absolutely still so it wouldn't instantly trample us, but it just snorted and walked away. Aside from the Triceratops, surrounding us were a number of other plant-eating species.

"Well, this is an interesting situation we got into," Odango said.

"These are herbivores. If we move through the herd quietly, we shouldn't have any issues," Celeste said, walking on the route we were supposed to. As we moved through the herd, I saw that most of the species around us looked exactly like some of the species that used to be on Earth. Parasaurolophus, Gallimimus, Brontosaurus, Stegosaurus, all different species that we had only seen in books or movies. Odango couldn't help but pet one of the Parasaurs, while Nikki and I stared out at the rest of the herd.

"This is so beautiful," Nikki said.

"It is. We should come here more often," I replied. But before any of us could react, Amki suddenly came crashing to the ground. I turned and saw that she had tripped over the tail of a creature with an armored back and a club at the end of its tail. An Ankylosaurus.

"Hey! I'm walkin' here!" Amki yelled, annoyed. The Ankylosaurus seemed as annoyed as Amki and slowly got up and moved.

"You OK?" I asked, helping her up. She just got up and brushed herself off.

"I'm fine. I just wish these stupid things wouldn't look like freakin' rocks!" she said in a huff.

"Then you should look where you are going," Celeste said.

"You should've warned me then!" Amki said. One of the Parasaurs' heads suddenly just shot up and looked around, signaling a warning trumpet to the rest of the herd. Several of the other dinosaurs surrounding us also looked up in fear.

"OK, everyone just don't move!" I whispered to the others.

"We aren't moving!" Amki hissed sharply through her gritted teeth. I tried looking in the same direction as the rest of the herd, but I couldn't really see what they were scared of. But as I turned to the forest line bordering the valley, I caught a small glimpse of movement. It was running on two legs, had razor sharp teeth and claws, and killing claws on both feet. To make matters worse, there were about 8 or 9 of them.

"Raptors," I said quietly. Without any warning, the first raptor jumped out of the woods and tackled one of the Parasaurs to the ground, biting its neck and killing it. As soon as the first Parasaur went down and its blue blood gushed onto the ground, the rest of the herd went flying into a stampede, safe for the Brontosaurus, which were simply too big for the raptors to attack.

"Head for the trees! If we can get there, we may have a chance of losing them!" Celeste said. The six of us began to run alongside the herd to try and lose the raptors, but the herd, with the exception of the Stegosaurus, was outrunning us. Quick thinking, I grabbed Nikki and jumped on top of one of the fleeing Gallimimus. Although we were a bit heavier than expected, the Gallimimus continued running, not even slowing down a bit. Celeste and Eva got the same idea and jumped onto the back of a Parasaur with Odango and Amki in tow on a Triceratops. The raptors continued to pursue us, catching up to us. However, as one jumped into the air to tackle us, Nikki shot at it with her arm cannon, which killed it instantly. Two more leaped onto the back of the Parasaur Celeste and Eva were on, but Celeste decapitated one and Eva blew the other off with a concussion blast. Seeing the odds falling out of favor for them, the remaining raptors broke off and retreated, allowing us to flee into the jungle. After we were far away enough from danger, the three dinosaurs we were riding slowed to a stop.

"OK, THAT was AWESOME," Nikki said as we got off our mounts. As the three dinosaurs ran ahead to get back with the herd, Celeste checked her wrist map.

"Well, that high speed chase seems to have shaved a lot of time off of our current timetable. However, my recon drones have received word that the soldiers have nearly breached the village's last line of defense. After that, the soldiers will only have the village gates to worry about," she said.

"And then they start killing innocent people," I said.

"Correct."

"Is there a way we can get there faster?" Nikki asked. Celeste walked us over to the entrance of a vast canyon.

"There is, but it's extremely risky. If we continue through this canyon, we should be able to get there before they breach the gates. The only issue is that this canyon goes straight into carnivore territory. We would run the risk of running into any number of carnivorous species in that canyon," Celeste said.

"Like what?" I asked.

"Slashers are the most common. But I've heard that Pack Runners and Bonecrushers live in this area too."

"Bonecrushers. You mean…" Nikki started.

"Tyrannosaurus Rex," I finished. T-Rex was the most ultimate predator that Earth had to offer. The thought of running into a dinosaur of that magnitude would be anyone's worse nightmare.

"What happens if we take the long way around instead?" Odango asked.

"A few casualties, but not too many," Celeste said.

"So we either take the long way and several unarmed locals die or we run through a canyon and risk getting eaten. What do you guys think?" I asked.

"I vote taking the long way!" Odango said, raising her hand.

"Well, we have the weapons to deal with large predators. I vote the canyon," Eva said.

"Same. I need to punch something," Amki said.

"If it means saving the people with no deaths, canyon it is!" Nikki said.

"So, the canyon it is," I said.

"Agreed. Odango, if you wish, you can stay in the middle of the group. You'll have the most protection from us," Celeste said.

"I think I'll do that," Odango said, seeming a bit disappointed.

"Alright team, let's move out!" I said.

"Dude, stop with the superhero quotes, you aren't funny," Amki said. I just ignored her and the six of us walked into the canyon. Amki and Eva took up the rear while Nikki and I stood in front. Celeste was in the middle with Odango, who was terrified. After a few miles of nothing, Nikki finally spoke up.

"This isn't so bad," she said, quietly.

"Yeah, it's too quiet," I said, keeping my shotgun in front of me.

"REALLY wish that you brought the BFG," Amki said.

"And I told you that that gun is too dangerous for me to use around a whole bunch of civilians!" I said. I suddenly heard snarling and growling coming from around the bend. I immediately got up against the wall and peeked around the corner. Sitting in the middle of the pathway was a whole bunch of raptor-like dinosaurs. They didn't seem familiar to me, but when I saw their tails, I instantly recognized them. They had blades on the end of their tails.

"Slashers. A whole pack of them," I said to the others.

"I told you we should've gone the long way!" Odango said quietly.

"Is there any way past them?" Nikki asked. Celeste pulled out a small device out of her pocket and showed it to me.

"This releases a burst of soundwaves at a noticeable frequency. It should get their attention long enough for us to pass through," she said before she threw the device off to the side of the path on top of a cliff. The noisemaker immediately started blaring, drawing the attention of the Slashers. One roared and the whole group jumped onto the cliff where the device was, giving us enough time to sneak by undetected. For the first few minutes, we moved safely through without any problems. But then, the noisemaker fell onto the path in front of us and a Slasher came down on top of it and tore it to pieces before looking up at us and growling.

"Oh boy, here we go," I said. The Slasher immediately raised its head and called the rest of the group over to us. The first two attacked from above, but Celeste stabbed one with her katanas and Amki grabbed the other's head and smashed it into the side of the wall. The Slasher in front of me jumped at me and pinned me to the ground, but I was able to shoot it off with my shotgun.

"We need to move! NOW!" Celeste yelled. The six of us began to run throughout the canyon while the rest of the pack pursued us from the rocky ledges above. A few Slashers jumped down and ran behind us, nearly sinking their teeth into Amki, but Eva forced them back with her concussion blasts. The blast caused some rocks to fall onto the Slashers behind us and block our way back. When we came to a split in the path, the team split into two groups: me, Nikki, and Odango took one path, while Celeste, Eva, and Amki took the other path. As we ran down the path, Nikki and I shot at the Slashers. We managed to hit a few of them, but a lot more still remained. Pretty soon, we reached a dead end. There were no craggy spots within arm's reach that we could climb up and there was no other way we could go around. There weren't even any good places for me to grapple onto.

"Damn. Now what?" Nikki asked.

"We stand and fight," I said, turning to face the pack. The pack slowed to stop in front of us, baring their teeth and claws, ready to pounce on us.

"WHY WON'T YOU JUST LEAVE US ALONE, YOU BIG UGLY LIZARDS?!" Odango yelled in fear at the Slashers. Nikki and I gave her a look like she was crazy, but the Slashers stopped in their tracks and then ran away in fear.

"Oh, well, that was easy," Odango said, smiling.

"Yeah, but that's not a good sign either. If they're running scared, it means that they're scared of something. And if predators go running, it means there's a bigger predator nearby," I said. Before anyone could say anything, a drop of drool fell on Odango's head and the sound of deeper growling was heard. The three of us looked behind us and saw a larger carnivore peeking it's head over the canyon wall. It's head and the size of its teeth were completely unmistakable. A T-Rex. In all its glory and terror, the monstrous creature's enormous jaws were inches above our heads before it opened them and let out a terrifying roar that sent chills down me and Nikki's spines and made Odango go into a complete panic. The Rex broke through the canyon walls, but I grabbed both Nikki and Odango and slid under the beast, narrowly missing the snap of its enormous jaws. We ran back into the jungle with the Rex hot on our trail.

"Must go faster! MUST GO FASTER!" Odango screamed while trying to shoot the Rex with her arm cannons. They barely did anything against it and the monster roared in anger and snapped at her.

"Max, we've reached the village! How are things on your end?" Celeste said through the comms.

"We're headed there now! Only problem is we got a Rex on our tails!" I said as I shot the Rex with my shotgun.

"Max, keep that thing away from the village! We already have enough problems as it is!"

"I actually have an idea! Has anyone seen the Diabolus Rex?"

"Some said it was lurking around the eastern gates, but they're having a hard time holding it off. Why?"

"Because I'm gonna start a fight between these two monsters! Rex against Rex!"

"Where are you going with this?"

"If two major predators are in each other's territory, they'll fight! Only the strongest one wins!"

"So, wait, we're gonna do a Jurassic World final boss thing?!" Nikki asked.

"That's exactly what we're doing!" I said as we jumped over a log, which the Rex smashed its way through.

"And if that doesn't work?" Celeste asked.

"I'll improvise!" I replied. I shot the Rex again, which diverted its attention to me. As I ran to the left, the Rex pursued me instead of Odango and Nikki. I fired my grappling hook at a nearby tree and swung around behind the Rex. As I landed on the ground, I saw the trees beginning to shift and move. The Rex noticed as well and roared into the trees as the Diabolus burst into view and bit the Rex on the neck and wrestled it to the ground. However, the Rex got back up and headbutted the hybrid and bit it's snout, throwing it against a bunch of trees. Their blue blood dripped from their wounds as the two paced in a circle, looking for each other's weaknesses. The Diabolus then rushed in and attacked the Rex again. The Rex, however, dodged the attack, bit down on one of the Diabolus' arms, and ripped it off. As the hybrid roared in pain, the Rex ran in again and bit the Diabolus' neck, wrestling it to the ground. As the two creatures continued to fight, Nikki ran over to me.

"So, how's that whole 'predator against hybrid' thing working?" she asked.

"Could be worse. What exactly are you doing?" I asked. Nikki just smiled and created an arm cannon.

"Helping you, of course," she replied before running in and shooting at the Diabolus.

**Nikki's perspective**

The Diabolus lunged at me as I shot at it, but the Rex grabbed it by the tail and ripped off the blade at the end. The Diabolus , however, turned back around, grabbed the Rex by the neck and slammed it on the ground, causing one of its teeth to fall out. Before it could land the killing blow on it though, I began shooting it in the face with my arm cannon again. The Diabolus' back then tensed up a bit before its tail sprouted spikes and flicked its tails at me, which threw some of the spikes at me. I was able to get out of the way before any of the spikes could impale me. I hid behind one of the trees, preparing a stronger version of my arm cannon. But, the Diabolus smashed through the tree and roared at me again. I aimed and fired at its head, which did a bit of damage, but still wasn't going down.

"Nikki! Get out of there!" Max yelled. I turned and ran while still shooting the Diabolus, but I should've been more concerned with where I was going, because I tripped over an exposed root and fell to the ground. Before I knew it, the hybrid had caught up to me and grabbed me by the leg with its jaws. The good news was that my armor was stronger than the creature's bite force, causing one of its teeth to chip. The bad news? It decided it wanted to eat me whole. I was able to create a hook and latch onto the creature's tongue before it could swallow me.

"Oh, God, this bites on so many levels!" I said. My inner thoughts were practically groaning at how stupid that remark was. The Diabolus roared in pain as it shook its head around, trying to get the hook free of its tongue and lower jaw, but I was hooked in pretty good. Suddenly, the Rex came in from the side, ramming into the Diabolus and making it stumble a bit. From its mouth, I could see the Rex staring the Diabolus down. The Diabolus roared and charged ahead, biting down on the Rex's neck. I was within inches of the Rex's neck, but the Diabolus forced the Rex back to the ground. I couldn't see Max anywhere and it felt like I was again on the brink of death. The Rex, exhausted from the battle and the amount of wounds it had, was too tired to get back up. But as the Diabolus prepared to deliver the killing blow to both the Rex and me, it suddenly stopped in its tracks and started to gurgle. I looked back and saw blue blood coming up from the creature's throat. And then, the Diabolus' head crashed to the ground, its blood bursting up through the throat and spraying all over me. After a while, I unlatched my hook from the jaw and tongue of the beast and crawled out of its mouth. Max had the Crucible in hand, standing next to the body of the Diabolus Rex. He had decapitated the monster. He ran over to me and held me tightly, even though I was covered in blood.

"Are you OK, sweetie?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I SWEAR that wasn't part of the plan," I replied, laughing a bit. Suddenly, the Rex got back up, shaking its head a bit before walking over and staring at us for a while, growling softly. Max held me close and gripped the Crucible tightly, prepared to fight. But, the Rex just let out a strong exhale through its nostrils, turned to the Diabolus' body and grabbed it with its enormous jaws before dragging it away into the jungle.

"You're welcome," I said. Max holstered the Crucible and picked up the tooth the Rex had lost earlier.

"Well, guess that's another souvenir for the shelf," he said, pocketing the tooth.

"Celeste, this is Nikki. The Diabolus Rex is down," I said into my comms.

"Perfect. Then perhaps maybe you and Max would like to help us wrap up?" she asked.

"Pretty much. What is you need help with?"

"There is a tank filled with soldiers at the west gate. Could you please destroy it?"

"Oh, hell yeah," I said as me, Max, and Odango raced over to the other side. On the way, Max grappled a soldier and shot him and I stabbed one with my sword. When we got to the tank, we killed the soldiers surrounding it before Max grabbed a grenade belt off of one and jumped on top of the tank. He stabbed one of the soldiers on top with his arm blade, then pulled one of the pins on the grenades and threw it into the tank. The three of us managed to get out of the way before the tank exploded in a fiery explosion. Any other soldiers within the blast area were killed by the fire or the flying debris. Odango stood up, dazed and disorientated, while Max helped me up.

"You know, I really don't get this whole 'hero' thing," she said, struggling to stay standing.

"Well, nobody is supposed to get it. You just have to face the right way," Max said.

"That's just the thing. My processors aren't meant to deal with these levels of stress! It's just not how I'm programmed!"

"Maybe. But the whole point of being a hero is saving the innocent. That's all it really is," I said.

"Is that so? Because it sounds like-!" Odango started to say before her entire body was covered in electricity and she fell limp to the ground, her entire body shutting down.

"ODANGO!" I yelled, running over to her. But something suddenly wrapped around my neck and yanked me backward. In the midst of the smoke was a blonde-haired alien in some kind of dominatrix outfit with a whip. Her eyes were a vivid pink, but her sclera were black. Max ran over to face her, but he was knocked to the side by another individual. This one WAS human, his slick, black hair brushed to one side. He was wearing some kind of armor.

"You miss me?" he asked before punching Max square in the face.

"NO!" I yelled, running over to get him. But the blonde alien wrapped her whip around my neck again and held me against the ground. The human continued to follow up his punch with a few more punches to Max's face and chest before Max caught his fist and punched him away. In a fit of rage, Max grabbed him by the collar and prepared to beat him, but not before his body suddenly went tense and he began to choke. I looked to the side and saw a figure walk out of the smoke. He had some white robes on, but he had a mask that resembled Ultron. Behind the mask was long white hair that was flowing in the wind a bit. And one of his clawed hands was outstretched like he was choking him without psychically touching him. The human prepared to punch Max again, but the robed figure stopped him in his tracks.

"Enough. Let us not take this any further than we already have," he said in a half-robotic, half-demonic voice. The human backed down as the robed figure touched Max's forehead with one the clawed fingers on his other hand, which made Max fall unconscious.

"I could've knocked him out myself," the human said.

"I am more capable than you, Philip. Now then, let us head back," the robed figure said, still holding Max with his telekinesis.

"Milord, what of this one?" the blonde alien asked, tightening the whip around my neck. The robed figure came up to me and stared at me with his glowing, red eyes.

"We'll take her as well," he answered as he held his finger up to my forehead and the whole world went dark.

**To Be Continued…**


	5. Chapter 5: Overlord

HuniePop Space Adventures

Chapter 5: Overlord

Everything was dark. Cold. My head had this unbearable pain as did the rest of my entire body. Someone was trying to talk to me, but I couldn't make out exactly what they were saying. That is, until a commanding slap took me out of my daze.

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead!" a male voice said. I saw that the same slick-haired guy who attacked me and Nikki earlier was standing in front of me. I knew exactly who it was. He was the only person I hated more than Ayano Aishi.

"Philip James. As I live and breathe," I said. Philip was the WORST sort of person you'd want to meet. He used to be the bully that terrorized me in high school all the way until a month after I lost Generica. He was cruel, abusive, and a complete asshole. After he graduated, he and his mom moved to the luxuries of New York. Yet, here he was, standing in front of me in some sort of armor that looked a bit similar to mine, the only differences being that his armor had a symbol in the shape of an "O" and a cape on his back, which looked extremely stupid.

"Once again, looks like I'm the one on top and you're all the way down in the trash heap," Philip taunted me. I wanted to punch him so badly, but I saw that my wrists and ankles were chained up, so there was no way for me to give Philip what he deserved. I looked around and saw that there were three more people in the room beside us. The first one was the female alien that attacked me and Nikki earlier. She resembled a human female with long, blonde and a very attractive body, with a large chest and wide hip. She had pink eyes with black sclera and many piercings on both ears. Her attire was a full body suit which had ripped armed warmers and high heels. Around her mouth was a mask with a pink, heart-shaped symbol on it and around her neck was a spiked choker. The second person was a male and had the same hair color and eyes as the first. But his face was unmasked and had sharp teeth and a long, flexible, slimy tongue which he was using on a chunk of meat. He didn't have a shirt on and his arms appeared to be soaked in blood. The third person was a green skinned alien with long bluish hair, shaved on one side. Her right arm was much larger than her left, covered in some sort of bark.

"And I see that your standards are still crap," I said. Philip just gave me a smug smile.

"So, how's life been treating you?" he asked.

"Why do you care?"

"I don't. Just thought I'd ask so I'd interrupt you and tell you I don't care."

"You two aren't on great terms, are you?" the green skinned alien asked.

"We have a pretty checkered past, Z. It's human stuff, you wouldn't understand," Philip said.

"I thought I told you a thousand times, Philip. Only my friends call me Z. To everyone else, it's Zekxsie."

"And I'm not your friend?"

"Not even an ally. You're a nuisance."

"Thank you," I said. Philip shot me a look of disgust.

"Must you two always argue?" the blonde alien asked, walking up to Philip. Philip just smiled and grabbed her.

"For you, always, Selene," he said, caressing her hair.

"Ugh, could you two get a room, please?" I said, rolling my eyes.

"I actually agree with the human, sister. You should take this pitiful act of love somewhere else," the alien male said before taking another bite of the meat he had.

"You're one to talk, Malicus! You could stand to eat a little more quieter!" Selene said.

"Anyhoo, there's something I need to ask you. It's of great importance," Philip said.

"I don't answer to you, so forget it," I said.

"What, you don't trust me?" Philip asked, getting too close to my face. I just answered by headbutting him in the face, causing him to bleed from his nose and stagger backwards.

"No, I don't," I replied. Philip angrily gritted his teeth and prepared to hit me, but his fist stopped just before it made contact with my face. I thought Philip was just trying to taunt me, but he looked like he was really struggling.

"That is enough, Philip," a half-demonic, half-robotic voice said from behind him. I looked behind and saw a white robed figure standing behind him, his clawed hand outstretched. He looked exactly like the robed figure I saw on the mural on Gaia Prime. Standing to his left was another human like Philip, except he looked older and his hair was combed back. He was wearing some armor as well, but it looked more advanced than Philip's did, with some kind of tubes wrapped around his arms. Standing to the right was another man, only his skin was a dark green and his hair was white and short. He was more muscular and wearing an armored suit with medals on it. He was holding a silver mask with a visor going across the eyes and nose and stopping near the mouth. Philip collapsed to the ground, panting heavily from exhaustion.

"I could've handled this!" he said.

"I'm sure you could, Philip," the robed figure said walking up to me and staring. His red, glowing eyes seemed to pierce through my soul.

"Um, I'm guessing that you're the mastermind around here?" I asked.

"You presume correctly, human. But, I am no mastermind. You may call me… the Overlord," the robed figure said. I just nervously looked around at the people surrounding him.

"I see that you have a colorful cast here. Is there a villain convention in town?"

"You're afraid. I can sense your fear."

"Well, given the fact that you wear the face of Ultron, have clawed hands, and have a demonic voice, yeah, I'm a bit disturbed."

"Milord, I believe we should get down to business, as it were," Selene said.

"Yes. We should. There is an artifact in your possession that I need. Where is it?" the Overlord asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I replied.

"You have used this artifact in combat on Gaia Prime against a whole horde of Infernites."

"Not ringin' a bell."

"It looks like a dagger. Has a handle that looks like a skull and lower part modeled after some kind of creature's eye," Philip said.

"Nope. Not a clue," I replied. Suddenly, the muscular alien grabbed me by the neck, choking me.

"You will give us the location of the Crucible or I'll end your pathetic life!" he said.

"General Taarkin! Release him at once!" the Overlord said. General Taarkin reluctantly did so, making me cough a bit.

"The human is clearly stalling! He's trying to buy time for his friends to try and find him!" he said.

"We are far outside their range and we've confiscated their communication devices. And killing him will get us nowhere. You need to be calm, Taarkin," the older human said. The Overlord nodded in agreement and walked up to me again.

"Perhaps there is something else on your mind?" he asked.

"OK, you got me. Where's Nikki?" I asked.

"The girl is fine… for the moment. However, if you do not give up the Crucible's location, I cannot guarantee her safety. Now then, we will give you some time to think. Hopefully, you will remember where it is. And hope you do… for her sake," the Overlord said before walking away with the rest of the group following after him and the door shutting behind them.

**Celeste's perspective, planet of Saurian**

One of the soldiers shots nearly grazed my arm with a blaster bolt, but I was able to return fire and land a shot on his head. We had been fighting for what seemed like 2 hours, but the remaining soldiers were beginning to back down as their numbers started to dwindle. One soldier ran out of his ammo and pulled out a sword, engaging me in a melee fight in desperation, but I executed him the second he made a wrong move. As I stopped to take a breather, Amki ran up to me, panting heavily.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"I'm good. I still got a lot of fight left!" she said.

"I find that hard to believe. Even you have your limitations," I replied. Eva joined the two of us as the smoke began to clear.

"How is everything here?" she asked.

"The soldiers are retreating and there have been little to no casualties. I'd say we got lucky."

"You call this lucky? I'd say it's a job well done!" Amki said, still panting.

"Maybe. Max, Nikki, how are things on your end?" I said into my comms. But there was no answer.

"Max, Nikki, respond," I said. But there was still no answer. Me, Amki, and Eva immediately headed over to the west gate to see what was happening. We saw the destroyed remains of the tank, but no sign of Max or Nikki.

"Guys, I swear if this is a prank, I'll kill you both," Amki said.

"Celeste, over here!" Eva suddenly yelled. We ran over to her and found her kneeling over Odango's body.

"What happened?" I asked.

"She's been deactivated."

"How?"

"I don't know," Eva said, before reactivating Odango. Her eyes suddenly jolted back to life.

"…it should be a bit more complex than that!" Odango said. She suddenly looked up at us in confusion.

"What?" Amki asked.

"Max was just telling me about what a hero really meant," Odango replied.

"And WHERE are they now?"

"I… I don't know!" Odango said, looking around the area. As she did that, I noticed something shining in the grass. I went over to inspect and saw that the grass was covered in light blue dust. I knew exactly what it was. Eva and the others came in behind me to see what I was doing.

"What's that?" Amki asked.

"Teleportation residue. When someone teleports, it leaves a chemical footprint, much like some Earth chemicals do," I said.

"So someone teleported in and out and they did so recently?" Amki said.

"Correct. But there are three teleporter spots here. Which means that there were three attackers and they left after they kidnapped Max and Nikki."

"Y'know, it's barely been a day since they almost died on Gaia Prime and now they get kidnapped by some random people. I swear, humans are such trouble magnets."

"But, what exactly is it that the attackers wanted with those two?" Eva asked. Odango immediately pulled up her vital screen.

"Well, their vitals are still good, but who knows how long that'll be for?" she asked.

"We need to get back to the ship immediately! Our friends are trouble!" I said, syncing up the teleporters.

"AGAIN," Amki replied as we beamed up.

**Nikki's perspective, Overlord's ship**

The minute I came to, I was in a cell. A cold, dark, damp cell. My whole body shivered as I opened my eyes and looked around. Sitting on the bench was some kind of plant-like alien who was messing with her right arm, which was covered in some kind of bark.

"Where am I?" I asked.

"You're on the Overlord's ship," the alien replied.

"The Overlord?"

"That's what he calls himself."

"And who the hell are you?"

"Name's Zekxsie. My friends call me 'Z'," the alien replied, standing up. I just looked around at the prison I was in. My cell was unusually clean and free of any bones or anything. Right next to me was another cell, which seemed to be empty.

"How come this place is so empty?" I asked.

"Yeah, about that. The Overlord doesn't really take prisoners. So, you should consider yourself lucky," Zekxsie replied.

"Where's Max?"

"Oh, your boyfriend? He's fine. Buuut, you and him might not be for long if doesn't tell us where the Crucible is."

"The Crucible? That weird dagger thing from Hell?" I asked. Zekxsie just raised an eyebrow.

"No, the weird dagger thing from Gaia Prime," she replied.

"What does the Overlord want with it?"

"You know, to set everything right. I don't know, that's all I got out of it," Zekxsie said. I suddenly started hearing some kind of wheezing coming from the cell next to me. I peered in through the metal bars between both cells and saw the silhouette of someone in there. I squinted to try and see more clearly, but the individual suddenly lunged at the bars and grabbed me by the neck. I looked at her face in horror. It was Info-chan, the half-Infernite half-Gaian I killed on Gaia Prime, only she looked a bit more deranged and bloodthirsty and her teeth looked sharper. Before she could choke me out, a group of vines surrounded her neck and arms and pulled her backward. I saw that it was Zekxsie who had a grip on her. She then wrapped the vines around the other end of the bars, which held Info in place. Info struggled to try and get free, snapping her teeth, but she couldn't.

"Believe me, Info, this is for your own good!" Zekxsie said.

"What the hell happened to her?" I asked.

"Well, considering the fact you blew her brains out, she's gone insane. Anyway, I've got to get going. They'll probably need me for somethin' else," Zekxsie said as she left the prison, leaving me with Info, who was screaming in rage.

**Max's perspective**

The eerie silence of the place was a bit unnerving. I was deep in thought about how I would escape or even talk my way out of this one. But, when I opened my eyes, the older human was standing in front of me, staring.

"Is my five minutes up?" I asked.

"More or less. Is your mind clear now?" the human asked.

"A bit. Definitely a bit more clear than before with you guys knocking me out."

"I apologize for that. Of course, the Overlord believed that you wouldn't come willingly."

"You know, I know you. You're Jeongho Yoon, right? The famous business executive turned psycho?" I asked. I had heard about Yoon on the news almost two years ago. He was once an executive for a company he worked for until he tried to kill the chairman. When that didn't work, he tried to kill the chairman's granddaughter, who had taken over at the time before Yoon was arrested. He was given a life sentence as a result. Yet, here he was, standing in front of me, working for an alien tyrant.

"I do admit my actions were not very… sportsmanlike," Yoon said. I just raised an eyebrow at him.

"Killing the chairman's daughter wasn't sportsmanlike? Dude, you have SO many issues," I replied.

"That's true. But the Overlord has given me an opportunity. An opportunity to set things right!"

"Set WHAT THINGS right?"

"This universe. With the Crucible, he will have power beyond anyone's imagination. No military might will be able to stand against him. He will be able to wipe out disease and death. Everyone will look to him and bow down to his might!"

"And if they don't? He'll just wipe them from existence? You know, I do wish that some things in the world would get better, but I don't go to the extremes, man."

"No, of course you don't. You are just human just like I am. But, when you've been under the Overlord's direction for as long as we have, you start to see the bigger picture. But, that's beside the point," Yoon said before stretching out his hand to me. I was suddenly hit with a enormous amount of pain in my head. The pain made me grit my teeth in anguish.

"Tell me the Crucible's location," he said. I did my best to try and bear the pain and say nothing, but after a while, the pain started to dull until it was completely gone. Yoon was confused at first, but he tried again and the pain came back. Only, this time it was less intense and it went away as fast as it hit me.

"Ok… I'll admit it. You do give one hell of a headache," I said.

"What is this?! You should be writhing in pain and telling me where the Crucible is! How are you resisting?!" Yoon asked in anger.

"Maybe you aren't that good. Or have you even USED that power before?" I asked. Yoon seemed about ready to blow his top, but he regained his composure and calmed down.

"Well, there are other ways to make you talk. Just know that the others will not be as forgiving as I am," Yoon said calmly as he turned to leave.

"Just answer me something: What exactly has the Overlord done for you?" I asked. Yoon stopped for a moment in silence.

"Everything," he finally answered before leaving.

**3****rd**** person perspective. One year ago…**

Seoul Detention Center. Jeongho Yoon had been there only a year and a half, yet it felt like he knew everything about the place. Every crack in the wall. Every guard who was stationed there. He was now reading a newspaper which was talking about the recent success about the company he used to work for. As he read on, Yoon kept gripping the paper tighter until he tossed it to the ground and leaned his head back against the wall, covering his face with his hands.

"This is all wrong. I was supposed to be successful. That damn girl… making a fool of me and my daughter. I swear she will pay for this," he said to himself. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like a reality. He was stuck in this place with no way out or support of any kind. But when he uncovered his face and sat up, he saw a person standing in front of him, his arms behind his back. The person looked EXACTLY like him. Yoon stood up, confused and amazed at who was standing before him.

"Wh-Who are you?" he asked. The person didn't answer. He just stood there, silent and unmoving.

"I asked you a question! WHO ARE YOU?! Answer me!" Yoon asked again. One of the guards came over to the cell door and looked in.

"Hey, Yoon. Everything OK in there?" he asked. Before the real Jeongho Yoon could answer, the duplicate turned to the guard with a smile.

"Yes, everything's fine. Just trying to collect my thoughts is all," the duplicate said before he grabbed the paper and sat down on the bed.

"Wh-what is this? Why is this happening?" the real Yoon asked.

"Because you have a calling," a mysterious voice said behind him. The real Yoon turned and saw a robed figure standing behind him, staring at him with his glowing, red eyes.

"Who are you?" Yoon asked.

"You may call me the Overlord. I'm from a world far from your own and I'm in need of someone with your particular skills," the being said.

"How did that guard not see me? Or YOU for that matter?!"

"I have blocked perception of myself and you for the time being. I need you to remain calm, Jeongho Yoon."

"And what of him? Is he not from Earth either?" Yoon asked, pointing to the duplicate.

"He is a construct. An android meant to mirror everything about you and to keep your enemies in the dark while you plot your revenge from the sidelines under my direction."

"And what exactly is it that you seek?"

"To correct this universe. If you join me and help me succeed in obtaining my goals, you will have your vengeance on those who wronged you."

"I-I mean, why would you even consider someone like me to help you?"

"I've seen your progress in your assassination attempt of those who wronged you. I was impressed with your strategic abilities and your careful planning. I'm in need of someone like that, regardless of whether they are human or not," the Overlord said. Yoon immediately bowed low to the ground in an act of obedience.

"I am humbled. But, I'm afraid I will not be anything more than a simple human so I might not be much help," Yoon replied.

"I would not think so myself, Yoon," the Overlord said. Before Yoon could react, the Overlord held out his hand and some armor started to form around Yoon's body until it made an armored suit with a cape.

"Jeongho Yoon, I appoint you as my second-in-command. For those who join us, you shall be given authority over them. Only in my role as Overlord will I surpass you."

"I am humbled, my lord," Yoon said, kneeling to the ground.

"Now, come. There is much to be done," the Overlord beckoned as both he and Yoon teleported away.

**Max's perspective, Present day**

The constant silence of the room was starting to bore me a bit. The only way I could entertain myself was to start saying random quotes from movies me and Nikki liked. I couldn't stop thinking about if she was OK or not. But as I started to say quotes from The Avengers, the door opened to reveal Selene was there with a whip in her hand. She walked in and moved to the side of me before turning my head to face her.

"Are you comfortable?" Selene asked.

"Funny you should ask. I was starting to die of boredom in here," I replied. Selene released my head and moved back in front of me. Without any warning, she wrapped her arms around my neck. Except she wasn't trying to strangle me. It seemed more like she was trying to seduce me.

"I'm sorry that I wasn't the first one to talk to you instead of Yoon. I can be more… persuasive."

"Uuuuhhhh, you are unusually close right now," I said, sweating a bit. Selene just took off her mask, revealing her sharp teeth. The only difference between her and Malicus was that the corners of her mouth were a bit scarred.

"You know, I've never had a human as a slave that I could toy with."

"What, Philip doesn't count?"

"He's just my partner even though he and I show affection to one another. I was actually hoping to have a separate human plaything to myself. Especially one who's unique."

"Well, I did seduce two sex-hungry genies on an island one time, so I guess you got your wish early," I said. Selene gave me a seductive smile and inched closer to my face.

"Trust me, you don't know what I'm capable of," she said before my lips met hers. She gave me a rather painless kiss even though she had sharp teeth. It felt a bit nice at first, but I suddenly felt something going down my throat. It was her tongue. Her long, slimy tongue. It began to get extremely hard to breathe but I couldn't pry her off because my hands were suspended and I couldn't jerk my head back because she was holding me. However, she relented and broke off the kiss. I immediately coughed and heavily panted as Selene smiled and pulled her mask back up over her mouth.

"I've killed some of my playthings with that move. But I have orders not to kill you, so consider yourself lucky. Still, just know that I take no pleasure in what comes next," Selene said, walking behind me. I looked back as she unraveled her whip and the next thing I knew, she struck me with it. The pain was unlike anything I had ever felt before. It was so sudden and it hit me extremely hard. She struck me three more times after that which added to the pain I already had. Selene walked back in front of me and looked me in the eyes.

"Are you going to tell me where the Crucible is? Or do you wish to continue?" she asked.

"Look, you're a really good looking woman and I don't want to offend you. So I'm not going to tell you what I would tell Philip or any of the others, thanks!" I said, still in pain.

"Very well, then," Selene replied, walking back behind me and continuing with her whipping.

**Celeste's perspective**

Back on the Centurion, the four of us continued to search for any signs of Max or Nikki or their attackers. So far, there was nothing and Odango was searching more frantically than the others were.

"Nothing yet?" I asked.

"No, still nothing. Whoever kidnapped Max and Nikki was really good at covering their tracks," Amki said.

"How are their vitals looking?"

"Nikki is doing fine, but Max's heart rate has elevated a bit. Whatever they are doing to him, he's in serious pain," Eva said.

"This is all my fault! If I wasn't so cowardly, I would've seen this coming and I would've been able to stop them!" Odango said rapidly.

"Odango, you need to calm down. We'll find them. We have to," I said.

"Look, OK? I was built for rice cooking, home economics, and cleaning! I wasn't built for combat! Everything I do know was on the chip I installed!"

"That doesn't matter. Because I have faith in you. If you can read their vitals and deal with most fights, you can find them," I said, putting my hand on Odango's shoulder.

"Let's hope we do find them. Who knows what kind of hell they're in now," Amki said.

**Max's perspective**

I don't know how many times Selene hit me with that whip of hers, but it felt like almost 20. After she struck me again, both the Overlord and Yoon walked into the room. Selene stopped whipping me and walked over to him.

"Have you had any luck?" the Overlord asked.

"No. My victims usually break after the 10th strike," Selene replied.

"And how many has had?"

"25," Selene said. The Overlord let out a disappointed sigh and walked up to me.

"It's pointless for you to keep resisting. Your suffering could end if you just give me what I want," the Overlord said to me.

"So you could just wipe out this entire universe? Forget it," I said.

"You're persistent and stubborn. I do admire that. But, like I said, it's pointless. What you interfere with now is bigger than you can imagine. You cannot stop what has been set in motion. You are but one man."

"Yeah, but I'd be one man making sure you don't strip everything down to its roots."

"My lord. Shall I continue the interrogation?" Selene asked. The Overlord fell silent for a few seconds before giving her a nod. Selene walked back behind me and began to whip me again as both the Overlord and Yoon looked on.

"I understand that you think you will be making a difference by resisting. But you will eventually break," the Overlord said.

"Then how about we speed up the process?" Philip's voice said from behind. He walked in the door while holding Nikki by the arm. Zekxsie was standing behind them.

"What is the meaning of this?!"

"Philip said that you told him to bring the girl up here!" Zekxsie said.

"Yeah, I may have told a little fib. But, I can promise you this: Max WILL break easy if she's involved," Philip said, forcing Nikki to her knees.

"Philip, she has nothing to do with this! Let her go!" I yelled.

"And I will. But, here's the thing. Either you tell us where the dagger is, or she'll be the second girlfriend you lose."

"Max, don't tell him anything, OK? Don't give them what they want!" Nikki said. Philip slapped her across the face in anger and then forced her head back up. A sword sprang up out of his wrist and he pressed it against her neck.

"PHILIP, LET HER GO!" I yelled.

"You've got 20 seconds. Actually, no, I'm feeling a bit generous. I'll give you 30. Go," Philip said.

"Philip, it doesn't need to be like this! PLEASE just let her go!"

"20 more seconds."

"PHILP! I SWEAR I'LL TEAR YOU LIMB FROM LIMB IF YOU SO MUCH AS LEAVE A SCRATCH ON HER!" I yelled, more enraged. I felt the dark presence I felt on Gaia Prime starting to resurface and take over my body. But as Philip lifted his sword up into the air, the Overlord held up his hand.

"Wait," he said. He then walked up to me and ran his hand over my arm, causing sparks of red electricity to zap his fingers. Yoon, Zekxsie, and Selene looked at it in fear, but Philip was confused.

"Is that…" Selene started to ask.

"It is," Yoon said.

"I am a fool. You're even stronger than I realized, human," the Overlord said, disappointedly.

"Well, not for long he won't be," Philip said as he raised his sword back into the air. But, the Overlord immediately stretched his hand out toward Philip, causing him to hold his neck in response as he began to choke.

"Zekxsie, take the girl back to the prison IMMEDIATELY. Under NO circumstances is she to be let out unless I decree it," the Overlord said.

"Yes, my lord," Zekxsie replied as she gently grabbed Nikki's arm and lead her out of the room. After they both left, the Overlord released Philip, who fell on the ground, coughing.

"We will continue the interrogation later. For now, we must rethink our efforts. Without the Crucible, our lives are at stake," the Overlord said as Selene picked up Philip and dragged him out with Yoon following behind them. The Overlord also turned to leave but looked back at me.

"No harm will come to the girl. You have my word," he said.

"And I'll kill all of you. You have MY word," I replied in anger. The Overlord just left in silence, the door closing behind him.

**Nikki's perspective**

Zekxsie put me back in my cell and locked the door behind me.

"Hey, uh, sorry about all that. I swear Philip is always trying to take the easy way out," she said.

"How can you even STAND to work with someone like that?!" I asked.

"Look, yeah, Philip's an asshole. But, he's part of this crusade. I have work with that."

"NOT Philip, the Overlord! Don't you realize that he'll kill us anyway when he gets what he wants?!"

"Look, I don't agree with some of the Overlord's methods, but when you live on a planet where you're the last of your kind, you'll understand. Listen, if you tell me where your boyfriend hid the Crucible, I'll try to convince the Overlord to just drop you off somewhere where you can both live your boring, happy lives."

"I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING," I insisted.

"Well, I gave you a fair chance. Don't expect me to give you another chance in the future," Zekxsie said before she left. I brought my knees close to my face and curled up as I was all alone in the cell, with only the screams and growls of Info breaking the silence. I dreaded what would happen to Max if he DID give up the Crucible. Or me, for that matter. But, I guess the thought of losing me was too much for him to even bear. As I was thinking, the sound of the cell door squealing open broke my thoughts. I looked up and saw a hooded figure holding some kind of staff in her hand. Before I could ask who it was, the figure ran over to me and held a finger up to my lips.

"We must flee this place! We don't have much time!" the figure said before grabbing my hand and taking me out of the cell, leaving the psychotic Info in her cell, screaming after us.

**3****rd**** person perspective**

The Overlord stared out into the vast expanse of space with Yoon by his side, deep in thought, while General Taarkin was busy communicating with one of his soldiers. After he was finished talking, he approached the Overlord.

"My lord. I regret to inform you that I am needed back on my home. Apparently, there are still some rebels that need to be dealt with. I hope that this does not displease you," Taarkin said.

"If you see the need to snuff out resistance, Taarkin, by all means," the Overlord said.

"Thank you, my lord. I also heard that things have become complicated with our human prisoner. Am I correct?" Taarkin asked. Before the Overlord could answer, Philip stormed onto the bridge angrily with Selene trailing behind him.

"Do you mind telling me exactly what the HELL that was back there?!" Philip asked, enraged.

"What exactly is it you mean? You signing our death warrants or your childish behavior?" the Overlord asked.

"He was about to break! If you hadn't stopped me, we would've known where the Crucible was!"

"Or he would've destroyed us."

"What are you saying, my lord?" Selene asked.

"The Infernite energy is surging throughout his body. With that much of it in his system, his rage would trigger a transformation, making him invincible. If we were to kill the girl, his rage and bloodlust would descend on us like fire," the Overlord replied.

"What, we aren't strong enough to deal with that sort of thing?" Philip asked.

"Philip, show some respect! Had the Overlord not intervened, we would all be dead!" Yoon said.

"And he's not powerful enough to deal with that?!"

"This is about more than your petty rivalry with him, BOY. It's about finding that which we seek without the risk of our own destruction. Without the Crucible to regain that energy, we must be more cautious going forward," the Overlord said.

"That might not be an issue anymore," Zekxsie said, walking into the room. Everyone saw that she was holding the Crucible in her hand. She then tossed it to the Overlord, who caught it in midair with his magic and carefully inspected it.

"Where did you find it?" he asked.

"In his suit. Apparently we didn't look carefully enough. It was hidden in a secret compartment in the suit's upper back. And the suit is so dense that the artifact's energy signature didn't leak through."

"You've done well, Zekxsie. Move the human to the prison with the girl. Our crusade begins."

"Yes, my lord," Zekxsie said, walking out of the room with Philip and Selene following.

**Max's perspective**

I couldn't stop thinking about her. The thought of Nikki being tortured was almost unbearable for me to imagine. But, the sound of the door opening interrupted my thoughts. I expected Philip or the Overlord or any of the others to come in through the door, but when I looked up, I saw Nikki standing in the doorway with a hooded figure. Nikki ran up to me and immediately hugged me as the hooded figure messed around with a control panel until my arms and legs got free. I returned the hug to Nikki, who began to cry.

"I thought I almost lost you," she said, tears running down her face.

"Did he hurt you?" I asked, holding her face.

"No, I'm fine."

"We need to leave now. They could come back at any minute!" the hooded figure said. The three of us ran out of the room and down one of the hallways until I spotted my armor. Me and Nikki ran into the room and I got into my armor while Nikki put on hers. I winced a bit at the pain on my back.

"Max, are you OK?" Nikki asked.

"I'll be fine," I said, grabbing my shotgun. I looked out into the hallway to see if there were any guards around, but so far, there weren't any.

"This way. The escape pods are just down the hall. Hurry!" the hooded figure said. We then ran down the hallway until we reached a large open room with several doors. The hooded figure stopped at one of the doors and started to type on a small keyboard on the side of the doorway.

"So, how long have you been on this ship?" Nikki asked the figure.

"Long enough," the figure replied.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked. Before the figure could answer, a blaster bolt flew past me and hit the wall. I looked back and saw Philip holding a plasma rifle and Selene holding a blaster. The two of them were shooting at us to try and keep us from leaving the ship. Both Nikki and I immediately returned fire as the figure continued to try and unlock the door.

"I don't mean to rush you, but can you please hurry up?" Nikki asked as she continued to shoot at Philip and Selene. Unfortunately, Philip fired a shot that hit Nikki in the shoulder, making her fall to the floor in pain. I managed to get her out of the line of fire before I resumed firing at our attackers.

"You know, I hope that you've said goodbye to your little bitch, Max! Because when we're done with you, I'm gonna enjoy killing her!" Philip said. My rage was starting to build again, but I looked up and saw that Philip was standing below some fuel cans suspended on the ceiling.

"Hey, Phil. You remember all those years ago when I told you I'd mess up that pretty face of yours? You just gave me the perfect chance," I said before firing my grappling hook into the suspension gear holding the cans and yanked the hook back. When the first barrel hit the ground, it caused an explosion which burned part of Philip's face and cut off their entrance to the escape pod room. The figure finally got the door opened and the three of us scrambled inside. As I closed the door to the outside, the figure pulled a lever and we detached from the ship.

"Celeste, if you can hear us, we are currently escaping from a ship to Sector… 16 it seems. We'll call you and wait for you on the first planet we land on!" Nikki said into her communicator before the pod jumped to lightspeed. After a while, we suddenly thudded against the ground and we suddenly came to screeching halt as the entire pod went dark.

**To Be Continued…**


	6. Chapter 6: Stranded

HuniePop Space Adventures

Chapter 6: Stranded

The first thing that hit me when I punched the door off of the escape pod was a strong gust of wind and a bit of sand blowing in my face. I fell to the ground with a thud and looked up at the landscape. All I saw was a desert with barely any trees and the wind was whipping up some of the loose sand. Nikki and the hooded figure jumped down from the escape pod and walked over to me.

"You OK?" Nikki asked. I stood up and brushed the sand out of my hair.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said.

"So, where are we?"

"This is the planet of Zandor. It's the one planet where the Overlord won't follow us," the figure said walking in front of us.

"Thank you for helping us," I said.

"Yeah, but who are you?" Nikki asked. The figure turned to us and took off her hood, revealing a young woman underneath. She had light blue skin and short purple hair and her eyes were a vivid green.

"My name is Rhea Magus. I am a Magistrus from the late planet, Obraxis," the figure replied, giving us a bow.

"Late? You mean destroyed?" Nikki asked.

"Unfortunately, yes. The Overlord destroyed my planet when he was looking for the Crucible. My mother and father perished in the aftermath."

"I'm… so sorry," I said. I suddenly remembered that I still had the Crucible and opened the back compartment where it was being stored. But when I reached back, it wasn't there.

"Max? What's wrong?" Nikki asked.

"The Crucible was in the back of my suit. Can you see if it's still there?" I asked. Nikki ran behind me and searched the suit's compartment.

"Max, it's not here! They probably found it and now they have it!"

"Dammit! I just handed him exactly what he wanted!" I said, burying my face in my hands.

"Well, not exactly," Rhea replied. Both me and Nikki gave her confused looks.

"What are you talking about?"

"While the Crucible is deadly by itself, it needs a vital component to become disastrous. When the Crucible is removed from its pedestal, it releases a large amount of Infernite energy and injects it into the host. But that energy needs time to fester and grow until the host uses the Crucible to extract it and be given ultimate power. Although the Overlord has the Crucible, it is but a simple sword. And if you were the one who pulled it from the pedestal…"

"…then the Infernite energy he needs is running through my bloodstream," I finished.

"That would explain the electricity coming from your arm," Nikki said.

"That said, there is a downside to having the Infernite energy in your body. As time wears on, the energy will continue to bring out your negative emotions and make you experience periods of rage," Rhea said.

"That explains why I'm feeling so agitated lately," I replied before I winced a bit.

"Are you alright?" Rhea asked.

"Yeah, it's just that the Overlord really puts a lot of good faith in his interrogators. That Selene person's got a really mean whip," I said. Nikki immediately took off the back portion of my suit and stared in horror at my scars.

"WHY didn't you tell me about this?!" Nikki asked.

"I didn't want you to worry…" I said.

"We should get him to the village. The inhabitants will be able to heal him," Rhea said.

"What village? And what inhabitants?"

"The Zandorians. They are masters of the mystical arts. Far more advanced than even the Overlord. Their village is roughly ten miles from here, over those dunes," Rhea said, pointing to said dunes. Nikki got me to my feet and put my arm around her shoulders.

"Well, then let's get going. With any luck, our friends will find us before the Overlord does," she said as the three of us started walking toward the village.

**3****rd**** person perspective, Overlord's ship**

The Overlord stared in awe at the Crucible in silence as he stood in front of the window overlooking the cosmos. Selene then came in and kneeled to the ground in an act of courtesy.

"My lord, I don't mean to disturb you, but I must speak to you," she said.

"Is Philip well?" the Overlord asked. Selene got up and walked up to the side of him and looked out into the void with him.

"He has a severe burn on a portion of his face, but he'll live."

"Good. What is it that you wish to know?"

"The girl that the humans escaped with. I've never seen her before. Was she a prisoner like they were?"

"She was. But she was also the last reminder I have of my world."

"I'm so sorry. I had no idea, my lord," Selene said.

"Think nothing of it. All that matters now is finding them and retrieving the energy we need for our quest," the Overlord said. As if on cue, General Taarkin walked into the room and bowed before the Overlord.

"My lord, I'm heading back to my home planet to deal with some personal matters. I will inform you if we make any progress on relocating the prisoners," he said. The Overlord nodded and raised a hand, giving permission for Taarkin to leave. After he exited the room, Selene spoke up.

"My lord, something about Taarkin feels… off. I feel like he's not actually with us," she said.

"He knows better than to cross me. If he even thinks of doing so, it would be the last mistake he would ever make. But we mustn't worry about that now. We must continue our efforts to locate the human for now," the Overlord said as he continued to stare out into the void.

**Max's perspective, Zandor**

Through the whole ten miles that we walked, not a single thing attacked us. No predators, no soldiers, nothing. Then again, it would've been pretty easy to spot anything, given that there was nowhere to hide. When the three of us crested the dune, we saw a pretty large village in the valley below. It looked like the kind of villages you see in Sicily or ancient Greece, except that they still looked new and not at all run down. However, there was not a single person or alien in sight.

"It looks deserted," Nikki said.

"Looks can be deceiving," Rhea replied as we made our way down to the village. But when we did enter the village, it was silent. DEAD silent. There were some robes out drying, some books on the tables, but there was no one out and about.

"Something's wrong. It shouldn't be this quiet," Rhea finally said.

"Is that so?" Nikki asked.

"They are mostly quiet when they meditate so they can hone their magic. But it's too quiet, even by their standards."

"Well, either they aren't here or something's wrong," I replied. We suddenly heard a blaster firing just ahead of us. I immediately ran ahead of Nikki and Rhea and moved to the side of one of the houses. I peeked around the corner and saw three soldiers trying to break into a house adjacent to the one we were hiding behind. The soldiers had dark green armor with silver arms and legs and masks covering their entire heads. One soldier was kneeling above what looked like one of the residents. It was a male, but he had red skin, horns, and light pink hair. His eyes were cyan with red sclera and his blue blood was gushing out onto the cobblestone path. Nikki and Rhea silently looked over my shoulder at the carnage.

"Guess that explains why there's almost no one here," I whispered.

"My God. It's a slaughter. Those soldiers are killing the residents," Rhea said.

"And I'm guessing that there are more in that house. You two wait here, I'll take care of them," I said as my helmet reformed around my head. Before I took a step forward, Nikki silently grabbed my shoulder.

"Max, you're hurt," she said. I put my hand on her cheek to calm her down.

"I have to save them. I promise I'll be safe," I replied. The soldiers finally broke into the house and I silently snuck over to the doorway as they started to ransack the place.

"Nothing here. How about you?" one of the soldiers said.

"No. But that mage went to a lot of trouble trying to hide something from us," the second replied. But as they continued to ransack the house, they, as well as myself, heard a slight whimper. One soldier walked over to a curtain and drew it back, revealing two more of the same alien species. One was an adult female while the other was a little girl who looked to be about 6 and was crying as her mother held her.

"Found them!" the soldier said, pointing his weapon at the two. The adult started talking in some kind of dialect that neither me nor the soldier could understand as the child continued to cry.

"Shut those two up," the first soldier said. But before the second soldier could fire, I immediately ran up to the third soldier and stabbed him through the head, alerting the other two to my presence. They started firing at me, but I used the dead soldier as a shield and ran up to the first soldier and blasted him with my shotgun. The second tried in vain to shoot me, but I grabbed him by the head and slammed him into the ground. He barely had time to say anything or recover before I brought my foot down and crushed his head. I stood back up and looked back at the two Zandorians, who just looked at me in horror. I put my shotgun on my back and held out my hands peacefully.

"Hey, it's OK. I'm not gonna hurt you," I said. But, before I could react, something wrapped itself around my neck and tossed me through three of the houses. I could barely get back up before the unseen object grabbed me again and made me stare into its eyes. It was some kind of blue skinned female humanoid with long flowing sky blue-white hair and prominent blue eyes with glowing blue pupils. She had dark lines under her eyes and all around her body, which looked like she was wearing some kind of dress. She also had eight spider-like appendages coming from her back, one of which was wrapped around my neck, and what seemed to be a crown on her head, with two blue horns protruding from the center: one from her forehead and another from the back of the head. And then it spoke. And I don't mean with its mouth. She spoke with her MIND.

"Disgusting filth. You and your master are not welcome on this planet. I will enjoy removing you from it as fast as you arrived!" she said with a rather mysterious and dark voice. The tentacle holding me slowly started to tighten its grip on me, making me choke a bit. Before she could fully strangle me to death, Nikki and Rhea came running up to us.

"Please, stop! That man is not your enemy!" Rhea said. The humanoid looked back at me as my helmet deformed to show my true face. She immediately uncoiled her tentacle and dropped me . Nikki ran up to me and helped me back up.

"What the hell is your problem?" she asked the creature.

"Forgive me. I thought he was with the soldiers," the creature said.

"It's fine. I've had worse," I replied. I suddenly felt something gnawing on my arm. When I lifted it up, the little Zandorian girl was biting down on the armor, as if she was trying to attack me. But her mother ran up and pried her off of my arm.

"You aren't Zandorian, are you?" Rhea asked the creature.

"I am not. I am the queen of an advanced species called the Ravagers," the creature replied.

"The Ravagers?" Nikki asked.

"What exactly happened here? Where did these soldiers come from?" Rhea asked. The Ravager Queen turned away and stared out into the distance.

"They are a plague upon the people of this planet. And they stem from a pestilence by the name of Taarkin," she answered.

"General Taarkin?" I asked. The Queen looked back at me.

"You've met him?"

"He works for an entity called the Overlord."

"The Overlord? I've never heard of someone like that."

"Wait, why is Taarkin attacking innocent people? And how long has this been going on?" Nikki asked.

"I will answer all of your questions. But right now we must head for the Sanctuary before more soldiers arrive," the Queen replied. The Zandorian woman grabbed her child and we followed the Queen out of the village. After about ten miles, we saw a group of sand dunes and mountains surrounding a dome-like structure. As we made our way to it, we saw more Zandorians of varying ages from infants to a few elders. They were accompanied by other Ravagers similar to the Queen, except some didn't have any horns on their heads, while others had a ring of horns around their entire head. When they saw us, some of them got into a defensive stance, baring their teeth and snarling. The Queen immediately outstretched her hands to the others.

"Hold, my sisters! They are not with the enemy. They are here to help us destroy the plague!" she said. The other Ravagers backed down and some of the Zandorians rushed to greet the two that were with us. They spoke in their dialect and some of them even shed a few tears when they no doubt heard about the fallen. One of the village elders walked up to me and just stared at me for a bit before she made a sign for me to kneel. I did so and she started to carefully examine my face, from my eyes to my teeth. After she closely examined me, Rhea came up to her and kneeled.

"My friend was gravely injured. Is there anyone who can help heal him?" she asked. The elder nodded and beckoned one of the villagers over who was holding some kind of vase. As the elder stuck her hands inside the vase, Rhea took off the backplate of my armor. The elder then took some kind of paste out of the vase and smeared it all over my back. After she had spread it around, she started to say some kind of chant which caused my back to gradually heat up until it felt like it was on fire. But after a while, it started to cool off and the elder stopped chanting. Nikki came over and put a hand on my back. When she touched it, I didn't flinch or even feel anything.

"Whoa. It's like nothing even happened," she said. Rhea put my backplate back on and gave a small bow to the elder.

"Thank you for your help," she said. Both me and Nikki also gave a small bow to the elder, who did the same.

"You are welcome to stay as long as you need to. The Sanctuary is the safest place to be at… for now," the Ravager Queen said.

"How long has this been here?" Nikki asked.

"No one knows. But they say that ten years ago, the night sky light up so brightly. And from that phenomenon came these very formations."

"So this was here only ten years ago and no one bothered to see what fell from the sky?" Nikki asked.

"This place is ravaged by sandstorms most of the year. No one dares to venture out here during that time."

"Well, that makes some sense," I said, before I began to walk away.

"Wait, where are you going?" Rhea asked.

"We need to at least get a signal out to our friends. It'll be easier to take out the remaining soldiers if there are even more of us that can fight."

"I don't disagree. But Zandor is a dead zone for communications. It's almost impossible to get a message in or out of this place."

"Well, maybe there's a spot where there's barely any interference. We have to at least try."

"I shall accompany you. I have been around this place several times. Should you get lost, I'll be able to guide you back," the Ravager Queen said. I gave her a nod and hugged Nikki before we left.

"Be careful out there," she said.

"Don't worry. I've got her to protect me," I said, pointing at the Queen. Nikki just smiled and kissed me on the forehead and the two of us headed out into the winds.

**Celeste's perspective, The Centurion**

We continued to scan for any signs of Max or Nikki's tracking devices, but nothing was showing up. The message Nikki had sent brought us to where they said they would be and yet, there didn't seem to be anything on our radar. Amki was completely upset, while Eva and Odango were calm.

"Are you SURE that this is where they said they were going?" Amki asked.

"The last transmission Nikki sent said that they were heading for Sector 16," I replied.

"Yeah, but this sector has LITERALLY no inhabitable planets!"

"That's not true. They are 10 inhabitable planets in this sector out of only 14. The could be on any one of those," Eva said.

"So there's a large chance that their on one of the 10 planets in this sector. This should be pretty easy!" Odango said.

"Yeah, as easy as finding a needle in a planet-sized haystack…" Amki said under her breath.

"Hey, Celeste said I need to be a bit more upbeat and positive! That's what I'm doing!"

"Stop it, both of you. Wherever Max and Nikki are, they no doubt have gotten help and are trying to reach us now," I said.

**Max's perspective, Zandor**

The winds of the desert whistled as they made their way across the dunes and past me. I tried getting a signal out as me and the Ravager Queen moved around the dunes, but nothing was getting out into the void so Celeste could hear.

"So, how long have you been on this planet?" I asked the Ravager Queen.

"My kind and I have been on this planet for 5 years. We were created by Taarkin's top scientists on his home planet for one single purpose: to destroy those who threatened or refused to bow down to Taarkin's rule. This was the first planet that they dispatched us to. But, when we came across the first Zandorians, we didn't see hostility or hate. We saw only fear and peacefulness. We turned on the soldiers that were with us and escorted the Zandorians to safety, but when the other soldiers found out about our treachery, they retaliated by slaughtering both my kind and the Zandorians. Even after we killed the soldiers we were sent here with, Taarkin continued to keep sending more and more of his soldiers. 500 of my sisters, myself included, were sent here. Only 50 of us remain due to our tireless efforts to keep the people of this planet. And yet, that DISEASE still continues to live in his high castle, watching from afar as his empire continues to grow," she answered.

"Taarkin's a coward," I said. The Queen looked at me with some confusion.

"Hm?"

"I mean, yeah, he's got this whole army and he's holed up in his fortress, but it sounds to me like he's scared of you. Because he knows what you're capable of. He CREATED you. That's why he's scared of you," I said. The Queen's blank expression suddenly changed and the corners of her mouth formed a slight smile.

"You are very brave for a human. In fact, I wonder if you ARE human," she said. Her body suddenly went tense and she looked back behind her.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"We are being followed," the Queen said. Sure enough, I started hearing the sound of footsteps. They were slight, but it was starting to get louder by the minute. I prepared to grab my shotgun, but through the wind and sand, I could make out the silhouette of a rather small person. In fact, it looked like a kid. Sure enough, when the silhouette got close enough, it was one of the villager's children, hopping into each of my footprints. The Queen softened her aggressive display and kneeled close to the ground to meet her.

"Little one, what are you doing so far from your mother?" the Queen asked. The girl just ran around her and came over to me. She just stood there, staring at me with those big childlike eyes of hers. After a few seconds, her face scrunched up into an angry-yet-cute face and she bit on my right arm.

"I don't think that she likes me very much," I said.

"It's probably because of your armor. You look like Taarkin's soldiers. That and the fact that she lost her father recently," the Queen said. I just sighed and pried the girl off and set her back on the ground. But as I was about to turn away, the girl started yelling at me in her alien dialect.

"Seriously, what is she saying? My universal translators aren't working for some reason," I said.

"The Zandorians speak a dead tongue. Only myself, my sisters, and experienced mages can understand it. And what she's saying would probably offend you," the Queen replied. I kneeled back to the ground and outstretched my hand to the girl. She started growling like a little chihuahua and bared her teeth. But I just calmly inched my hand closer and closer until I finally rested it on her head and started to pet her. She didn't seem to like it at first, but her expression softened as I continued to pet her.

"You don't need to be afraid of me, OK?" I said. As I took my hand off her head, the girl grabbed it and placed it back on her head and made a little pout. I couldn't help but smile at how cute she was and the girl smiled back.

"Paki," she finally said.

"Is that your name?" I asked. The girl nodded and smiled again. But something must've caught her eye, because she turned her head toward the desert and then ran out into the vast, open valley.

"Hey, wait, hold up!" I said, running after her. But, barely even two feet from where I was, I tripped over something and fell face-first into the sand. I got back up and looked back at what exactly I tripped over and I saw something glinting in the sand. I crawled over to it and brushed it off. It was some kind of gray-blue metal, which seemed to come to a point like an antenna.

"The hell? What is this?" I asked. The Queen came over to me and inspected the metal herself.

"I've never seen this kind of metal out here before," she said.

"Is it rare for ships to crash on this planet?"

"This entire sector has barely anything of little value. Ships would have no reason to venture here unless it's for research. This is something else," the Queen replied. I suddenly saw Nikki running up behind her, almost out of breath.

"Nikki, what are you doing here?" I asked.

"One of the… villagers… said that… her daughter went… missing," Nikki said in between breaths. I saw that Rhea, one of the village elders, and a small handful of Zandorians were also walking up to us.

"Well, she followed us. She's out there somewhere," I said, pointing out into the desert. I saw that Paki was now running back to us with something in the fold of her robes. Her mother immediately ran over to her and gently hugged her before talking to her in their language again. The mother then asked Paki what she was holding and she unwrapped the object and presented to the group. It was some kind of black rock that was pulsating a purplish glow. The Zandorians immediately crowded around Paki and her mother and put their hands on the rock and began to say some kind of prayer or something.

"What are they saying?" I asked Rhea.

"I'm not sure. I know just their normal dialect but it's like they're saying some sort of prayer" she replied. She then walked up to the elder and asked her what was going on. But when the elder answered her, Rhea came back with a surprised and worried look on her face.

"What? What is it?" Nikki asked.

"They said that that rock isn't of this world. And there's something coming off of it. Voices."

"Voices of WHAT?"

"Trapped souls of countless species," Rhea said. Everybody fell silent after she made that statement. I then walked back to the metal sticking out of the ground as the others talked.

"What exactly do you mean by 'trapped souls'?" Nikki asked.

"It could mean anything. But… it's aura. It isn't part of this planet or anywhere near here," the Ravager Queen said. I took a look at the metal again before turning back to the dunes.

"So, it's possible that it was brought here by something," Rhea said.

"By WHAT?" Nikki asked. I put my hand up to the dunes for a while before I balled up my fist and punched it. The blow caused a shockwave which blew some of the sand off and alerted the others to what I was doing.

"Max, what are you doing?!" Rhea asked as I took another swing at the sand dune.

"This feels unusually solid! You sure that there isn't anything underneath this?" I replied.

"This place is sacred to them!"

"And yet it showed up only 10 years ago! You ask me, this seems a little suspicious!" I said, punching the dune again.

"Max, maybe you should listen to Rhea!" Nikki said. I just ignored them and punched the dune one final time. This time, what I hit made the sound of reverberating metal, causing everyone to fall silent again. I removed my fist from the dune, which revealed some kind of white metal underneath the sand.

"You were saying?" I said.

"Step back," Rhea replied, holding up her staff toward the dune and conjuring up a strong windstorm which blew away the sand covering the metal. But what was underneath the sand defied all logic. It looked a large robot with a body colored white, orange, and red. Its armored head had two strands of gold "hair" coming from the sides while the forehead sprouted a grey-blue horn-like structure which had been broken off and ended up where I found it. And this robot also had a face, but it had no eyes or mouth, so it looked blank and expressionless.

"OK, that's a thing," Nikki said, completely dumbfounded. The Zandorians stood there in awe, staring at the wonder that laid before them. Suddenly, in the distance came the sound of screeching and howling. Me and Nikki looked back and saw a large sandstorm moving in from that direction. And it was moving fast.

"What's that sound?" Nikki asked.

"Stormhounds," the Queen said.

"Stormhounds?"

"They are wolf-like creatures that live in burrows throughout this desert. The signal the arrival of coming storms so every other creature can know and take shelter," the Queen said.

"And what kind of storm is that?" I asked.

"The worst kind. It masquerades as a sand storm, but holds toxic chemicals that will kill anything on the surface within seconds."

"How far away are we from the Sanctuary?" Rhea asked as I began to closely inspect the robot.

"Too far. Even with cloth masks, we would still die within a minute," the Queen replied. I began to knock on the metal, looking for any changes. When I got to the robot's face, it made a hollow knocking.

"It's hollow here! I'll bet that this robot has a cockpit or something!" I said.

"Do you see any emergency access points?" Rhea asked.

"No! The whole thing is sealed tight!" I said as I tried to break through. The Ravager Queen then grabbed me with one of her tentacles and moved me to the side.

"Step aside, human. I'll take it from here," she said before she tore through the robot's metal face with her tentacles, creating a large enough gap for all of us to get through. Through that gap, there was an opening into a control room of some kind. I immediately helped some of the Zandorians into the cockpit while Rhea and the Ravager Queen did their best to calm down the others. Just as the storm was within seconds of reaching us, we had gotten everyone inside the robot's head and the Queen plugged up the hole with her tentacles, cutting off both the storm and light from outside. Everything was pitch black until a blue glow came from the Queen's body and tentacles, which brightly illuminated the entire room. The cockpit was completely barren except for one single chair-like structure sitting slightly to the back.

"Well, this isn't spacious, but it'll do," I said.

"Let's just hope we don't run out of oxygen until the storm's over," Nikki replied.

"That won't be an issue," the Queen said before a strong gust of cool air blew in all around us.

"What was that?!" Nikki asked.

"Another one of my species' perks: we can siphon off the oxygen from outside and provide it in enclosed areas, even in hazardous conditions like this."

"Jeez, Taarkin really made you his ultimate nightmare, didn't he?" I asked. The Queen gave me a slight smile.

"Everyone seems to be accounted for. How long do these storms last?" Rhea asked.

"Twenty minutes at most. We should be in here for a while," the Queen replied.

"Well, I guess I'll take a short nap while we wait. Wake me up in ten minutes," I said as I walked over to the wall and sat down. Nikki sat down beside me and rested her head on my shoulder as we drifted off to sleep.

**Celeste's perspective, The Centurion**

Amki had fallen asleep on the console after we had searched for so long while Odango was searching through every frequency possible to try and find any SOS signal from Max or Nikki. I felt like I had failed to protect my friends and now the blood was on my hands.

"Celeste, you should get some rest," Eva said.

"I'll rest when we've found them," I replied.

"Celeste, even you need to rest. I'm sure that Max and Nikki are alright and they're trying to reach us now. I'll notify you if there are any changes."

"Alright then," I said. But just as I was getting up, Odango started going crazy.

"I'VE GOT SOMETHING!" she yelled, which woke Amki up.

"I wasn't sleeping!" she said, making my eyes roll. I immediately went over to the console Odango was at and looked at the display she had pulled up.

"What did you find?" I asked.

"A distress signal coming from the planet of Zandor," Odango replied.

"Is it Max and Nikki?"

"It could be. But it's not like any distress signal I've seen."

"What does it say?"

"It says 'SOS. Strelizia has taken major hull damage. Requesting immediate pickup for Parasite pilots.'"

"What the hell's a 'Strelizia'?" Amki asked.

"It's a code name. It must be name of a ship," I replied.

"OK, but how do we even know that Max and Nikki are there?"

"Zandor is a dead zone for communications of any sort. You'd either have to find an area where there's little to no interference or broadcast a strong enough signal," Eva said.

"Then that's where we need to go. Odango, plot a course for Zandor!" I said, sitting back in the command chair.

"There's another issue. What exactly are 'Parasite pilots'? It's not talking about Max and Nikki, is it?" Amki asked.

"I have a feeling we're about to find out," I replied.

**Nikki's perspective, Zandor**

10 minutes had passed since the storm had started. Yet, everyone was completely calm. The elders were telling stories to the children, the adults were talking and laughing amongst themselves, and some of the children were playing with any toys they had brought with them. Rhea was busy meditating while the Ravager Queen was up top, examining the place. I turned to Max, who was still asleep. I gently nudged him to wake him up, which he did, opening his eyes to me and smiling.

"I could get used to waking up like this," he said. I just smiled and pressed my forehead against his. But I noticed that one of the elders was holding Max's right arm and inscribing something into his armor with just her finger. What she was inscribing looked like five separate symbols, each glowing a different color before each of them went out and turned black. After the elder had finished writing the symbols, she got back up and gave Max a smile and a bow before walking away.

"Uh… thanks?" he said, confused. Rhea walked over and inspected Max's arm.

"What exactly did she write on his armor?" I asked.

"They're runes. Each of them reflect a quality that Max has. Compassion, courage, humility, empathy, integrity," she said, pointing to each symbol. She then flipped Max's hand and revealed a sixth symbol in the palm of Max's hand. It looked a bit like an S.

"And what's that one?"

"Hope," Max said, earning a smile from Rhea.

"How did you know?" Rhea asked.

"The symbol looks a bit familiar to us," I replied. We suddenly heard one of the Zandorian females calling out the name 'Paki' throughout the entire room.

"What's wrong?" I asked. Rhea walked over to the mother and asked what was going on. The mother frantically talked in her alien dialect while Max began to search the room. I walked over to Rhea to see what was happening.

"It's one of the villagers' children. She's gone missing," Rhea said.

"AGAIN?"

"Zandorian children are very mischievous. They love to explore any new environment even if it means exploring hazardous areas and getting into trouble."

"OK, but we're in a closed area. How'd she just disappear?"

"I think I may have figured that out," Max said from behind. I turned around and saw that he was kneeling on the floor next to a large hole that looked like it had been torn through.

"Was this here earlier?" I asked.

"It was. I just didn't pay it any attention at first. Looks like a meteor tore through the hull," Max replied. I looked back around and saw where the entry point was. Luckily, it was plugged up with tightly packed sand.

"Well, looks like the sand is blocking the outside."

"Yeah, but the only problem is that this hole is too small for me to crawl through. There's no way for me to tell where this leads," Max replied. The Ravager Queen came over to us and looked closely at the hole.

"It looks like it heads deeper into the robot. Possibly towards the chest cavity," she said. I walked around as they talked, but I noticed something a bit peculiar about the chair-like structure. On the floor in front of it, there were some straight, small tracks leading out from the structure.

"Max, over here!" I said. Max came over to me and inspected the tracks.

"These tracks move the chair back. When the robot got hit, it must've activated some sort of protocol to save the pilot," Max said. He suddenly turned his attention to the center of where the chair originally was. There was a hatch that was sealed tight. Unfortunately, it wasn't sealed tight enough because Max was able to pry it open which lead down into a vertical corridor and another hatch. The Ravager Queen grabbed me, Max, and Rhea and lowered us down to the second hatch, which Max tore open. The second hatch lead to a giant open room, no doubt located in the robot's chest. Around the center of the chest was an enormous chunk of ice connected to bunch of wires and machinery.

"Whoa," I said, amazed.

"Max, look there," Rhea said, pointing to the Zandorian girl, who was standing on some type of railing with her hands on the ice. For some reason, her hands were glowing and she was speaking in her alien dialect.

"What is she doing?" I asked.

"It seems to be some kind of fire magic. I believe she is trying to melt the ice," the Ravager Queen said.

"Yeah, but why? Is twenty minutes without water really going to hurt them that much?"

"It's not that. Look," Max said, pointing up at the ice chunk. It was hard for me to tell at first, but when I squinted and took a good look, I could make out the silhouettes of two people in the ice.

"Oh my God," I said. Not even 3 seconds after those words left my mouth, the ice began to crack and break apart, causing the Zandorian girl to stop chanting and took her hands off of the ice and fell off the railing and onto the floor. One piece of ice cracked free of the main chunk and fell toward her. Max immediately jumped into action and sheltered her from the ice chunk which shattered into several pieces against his armor. The Ravager Queen grabbed the girl away just as more pieces of ice fell to the ground. Amidst this, after enough ice had broken away, one of the pilots fell out of the chunk and plummeted towards the ground, only for Max to catch her and crash into the wall. The second pilot also fell out of the chunk, but Rhea held out her staff, which caused the pilot's body to glow and his body to slow down until he softly landed on the ground. I immediately ran over to the male pilot and checked his pulse. It was faint, but it was there. The pilot was wearing a dark grey suit and a black vest, had an average build, height, and a standard "slim" male physique, and had black, shaggy hair. But the most intriguing thing about him was that he had blue eyeliner and two blue horns coming out of his head. I looked back at Max, who still had the female pilot in his arms. She had a slender and athletic figure as well, but instead of a pilot uniform, she had some kind of hospital gown on with bandages all over her arms and on her face. She had waist-length, long pink hair with straight bangs covering her forehead, pinkish-red eyeliner, and a pair of red horns on her head as well as a white headband over her horns. Max just looked up at the ice chunk they were contained in before he finally spoke.

"Where in the hell did they come from?" he said. The Ravager Queen took all of us back up and some of the Zandorians crowded around the two pilots to try and help them recover as Max, Rhea, and I just stood back in thought. One of the elders spoke to the Queen, who then approached us.

"She says that they will both be alright. They should recover within a few minutes," she said.

"Well, that's a relief," Rhea said.

"Wait, we're not gonna talk about the fact that they're HUMAN?" Max asked.

"They are only half human. Their other half is something I've never encountered nor heard of before," the Queen replied.

"Plus the fact that humans aren't capable of machinery like this, correct?" Rhea asked.

"Not even close," Max said. One of the elders suddenly called over to us and beckoned.

"I guess I'll give them some help," I said, walking over to the female pilot. Max and Rhea continued to talk to the Queen while I helped the elder out.

"OK, so they're half human and yet, they have access to a giant robot that we aren't even capable of. Does this not raise any red flags?" Max asked.

"There could be a logical explanation that we don't have yet. We'll ask them when they've woken up and have fully recovered," Rhea replied as I put a cloth over the male pilot's forehead.

"There is something else. The girl. The elders say that she seems to have had severe injuries at one point, but they have been fully healed by something or someone."

"By WHAT?" Max asked.

"They don't know."

"Max, is something bothering you that much?" Rhea asked.

"It's just that this robot suddenly shows up 10 years ago and it's been sitting here ever since then with these two in cryostasis and nobody ever knew that they were out here. It just makes me wonder… what else is there that we don't know about?" Max said as I cautiously opened the female pilot's eye to see if she was conscious yet. She had sharp, cyan eyes with rings around the pupils. The eyes did look a bit enticing, but it also didn't seem normal. But as I was examining her eye, it suddenly twitched to life and looked directly at me before it turned bright red. Before I could say anything, the female pilot lunged to life and pinned me against the wall, screaming violently and alerting everybody of her sudden awakening. Her horns had grown a little bit longer and she now had fangs. I immediately created a blunt mace to try and get her off, but Max grabbed one of her hands with his grappling hook.

"Trust me, you don't want to do that!" he said, trying to talk some sense into her. But the male pilot came in from behind, his eyes glowing a bright blue, and wrapped his arms around Max's neck, making him drop his shotgun. Max, of course, just simply elbowed him in the face and threw him off. I created a stun blaster and shot the female away, but, being a non-lethal blaster, it didn't faze her even a bit and she lunged at me again at full force. I accidently panicked and created a blade and her screaming suddenly stopped. I opened my eyes and saw that she had just stopped sort of getting punctured and was now in some sort of trance due to one of the elders using her magic on her. The female pilot's eyes returned to their normal cyan color and she fell to the ground, panting. Max was wrestling with the male pilot until the Ravager Queen grabbed him with her tentacles and the same elder used her magic on him, which calmed him down as well. The Queen then set him on the ground and he slowly got back onto his knees. The female slowly rubbed her head until her eyes fell on the male.

"Darling?" she said. The male pilot turned to face the female, making her smile and immediately run over to him and hug him.

"Zero Two? What… how are…?" he stuttered.

"It's OK! I'm here now!"

"I-I know that, but… how?"

"That doesn't matter! We're together again! And we're alive! Are you not happy?"

"Of course I am! I just… don't understand!" the male pilot replied. But the female just simply hugged him tighter. But after a while, the male pilot looked around the room at everyone in confusion. After she broke off of the hug, so did the female pilot. And it didn't help that everyone was staring back at them.

"What is this?" the male pilot asked. Nobody answered. But the Queen suddenly moved her tentacles out of the way of the gap we came in, revealing that the storm had died down.

"The storm has passed," she said to me and Max. But the pilots went stiff at that statement.

"What storm?!" the male pilot asked. Before anyone could answer him, both he and the female pilot immediately ran out the gap and onto the desert plains. As soon as they both walked out there, the female pilot began to cry a bit and she fell to her knees. Both me and Nikki walked out to see what they were upset about.

"What… what happened?" the male pilot said. He briefly turned back to face the robot and he too fell to his knees after he saw it. The female pilot put her arms on his shoulder as she continued to cry, causing him to rest his head on hers.

"Darling… what happened? How long were we gone?" she said, the tears running down her face.

"I don't know. I just… don't know," the male pilot said. The two of them just sat there in silence before the male pilot looked back at Max.

"You," he said before he started walking over to him.

"Whoa, buddy, calm down! Let's not do anything…" Max started to say. But the male pilot just grabbed him by the armor's collar instead of attacking.

"What year is it?" he asked.

"What?"

"WHAT YEAR IS IT?! What happened to Earth?!"

"This isn't-" I started to say.

"Where are the plants? The sun is gone! How long were we gone for?!" the female pilot said.

"Look, you were stuck in cryostasis for ten years. We just found you and…" Max tried to explain.

"TEN YEARS?! That can't be! We destroyed VIRM! We won the war! Why does Earth look like a wasteland?!" the male pilot said.

"This isn't Earth! This is Zandor, a planet thousands of light years away from Earth," Rhea said, walking up to us.

"Wha- How did we end up here?!"

"We don't know any more than you do, OK? You need to calm down!" Max said.

"Not until you answer my question! What year is it?!" the male pilot insisted.

"It's March 10th! 2020!" I finally said, trying to get him to calm down. But my answer just shocked him and he crumpled to his knees while still holding onto Max's collar.

"2020…" he said quietly as the three of us looked on.

**Max's perspective**

Both of the pilots sat against the wall of the robot in complete shock as Nikki and I talked matters over.

"So what was that all about?" Nikki asked me.

"I don't know. And I'm not sure we WILL be able to understand based on what just went down," I replied. I looked back to the pilots who were being offered some water from an elder.

"Maybe we could just start from the beginning? Get to know them better?"

"Hm, that could be a start. Let's try that," I replied. We walked back over to the two pilots as the female had just finished drinking.

"Mmmm, that water tasted so cool and refreshing!" the female pilot said, laying back.

"Soooooo, are you guys doing a bit better?" Nikki asked cautiously.

"A bit. I mean, it's all so confusing, but I am glad that this isn't Earth."

"Still, how did we end up on this planet? And in the past, too…" the male pilot said.

"OK, let's just focus on one thing at a time. Let's start with your names," I said.

"I'm Hiro. And this is Zero Two," the male pilot said, pointing to the female, who gave a small wave.

"Uh, does she have an ACTUAL name?" Nikki asked.

"That is my actual name," Zero Two said, smiling. Both me and Nikki gave her a look like she was crazy.

"OK then. Anyway, my name is Max and this is Nikki. So, you guys are the pilots of this robot?" I asked.

"It's called a FRANXX. And those who can pilot are called Parasites," Hiro said. Nikki and I gave him another confused look.

"Darling, I think we're confusing them," Zero Two said. Hiro just held his head in frustration and stood up.

"I… need to get some air," he said.

"You just need to be calm," I said, grabbing his shoulder.

"Look, I can't be calm, OK?! I don't understand what's going on and I'm not getting any answers! I just… need a minute, OK?!" Hiro yelled before he exited the robot. Zero Two just sat in silence as she looked around the place.

"So, does this, robot, Jaeger, FRANXX, or whatever have a name?" Nikki asked.

"It's called the Strelizia," Zero Two replied, looking up at the ceiling.

"That's a beautiful name."

"It is."

"Look, we sent out a beacon to our friends several hours ago. We'd happy to help you out," I said. Zero Two just gave me a slight smile. Suddenly, Paki, the little Zandorian girl, came over to us and approached Zero Two, holding out a small loaf of bread to her. Zero Two smiled and took the loaf from her, a tear coming to her eye.

"Thank you," she said, tearfully. Paki simply just put her hand on Zero Two's head and started to pet her, as if she was trying to calm her down. Nikki then sat down beside her and gave her a hug, which made her smile. I headed outside to see Hiro, who was just staring out into the distance, deep in thought. I went over and stood beside him, looking out over the horizon with him.

"It's all just… too much," he finally said.

"I know," I replied.

"I just don't understand how we got here in the first place."

"There's no obligation for the universe to make sense to us," I said. Hiro just looked at me funny.

"Who says that?" he asked.

"I don't know. I'm just trying to make conversation to try and ease the mood. I just… thought it would help," I said, starting to walk away.

"Hey, what is that?" Hiro suddenly said. I turned back to him and looked out to where exactly he was looking. Out in the distance was a large dust cloud which was gradually getting larger and larger. My eyes suddenly got wide when I figured out what it was.

"Get inside. NOW!" I yelled, running back towards the Strelizia.

"Why? What is it? Hiro asked, running back with me.

"Nikki! Rhea!" I yelled as the two of us scrambled back in.

"What's wrong?" Rhea asked.

"Taarkin's soldiers! They've found us!"

"What?!" Nikki asked.

"How many?" the Ravager Queen asked.

"About 4 or 5 speeders and a lot of heavy firepower. We need to go now!" I said.

"No. We must stand and fight. The only way to stop the threat of this plague is to fight back!" the Queen replied, slithering out of the Strelizia's head to face the soldiers head on.

"Wait, hold up! You can't face all of those guys by yourself! You'll die!" Nikki protested, following her outside along with Rhea. As I was about to head out, I looked back at the Zandorians and Hiro and Zero Two.

"Stay here," I said as I headed out. The four of us looked out at the army of soldiers racing towards us, their weapons hot and ready.

"I don't think we're ready for this," Nikki said. The speeders stopped just a couple hundred feet away and some of the soldiers hopped down from them, pointing their weapons at us.

"Rhea, give us some cover. This is gonna get ugly," I said as my helmet reformed around my head. Rhea held out her staff and a large cyclone of sand formed in front of us, blocking perception of the enemy. Some of them immediately ran straight toward us, firing at us. The Queen used her tentacles to block some of the shots and I fired my grappling hook at one of the soldiers, reeling him in and killing him with my arm blade. Nikki started returning fire with her own blasters, hitting several of the soldiers with deadly accuracy. One of the speeders then fired straight at me and the sheer blast knocked me back into the metal face of the Strelizia. Two of the soldiers ran past the sand wall and headed straight toward the Zandorians, but I was able to kill one with a blast from my shotgun and grab the other and decapitate him with my arm blade. After I had wiped the blood off of my visor, I ran back toward the rest of the soldiers and began taking them out, one by one. But as I continued to fight, something heavy hit me from behind and knocked me to the ground. I looked back and saw another soldier standing behind me, except he had much thicker armor and was holding some kind of hammer embedded with spikes. The soldier swung at me again, but I was able to dodge out of the way and fire my shotgun at him. The shot didn't even leave a mark on his armor and he just simply swung and hit me again, knocking me back to the ground. I barely had time to recover before the soldier brought the hammer down on me again, though I did have time to grab it before it pummeled me again. But as I was struggling to keep the hammer from coming down, a small cannon came up out of the soldier's shoulder and it pointed itself directly at my head. As it was about to fire, a plasma bolt suddenly came out of nowhere and pierced through the soldier's head, killing him instantly. I got back up and turned around to see Zero Two holding a plasma rifle from one of the fallen soldiers and was wildly shooting soldiers left and right while yelling like a maniac. One of the speeders aimed its cannon at Zero Two and fired a rocket which sped toward her at full speed, but I managed to grab it before it hit her and threw it back at the speeder, causing it to explode.

"You need to get back to cover, now!" I said.

"I can help!" Zero Two insisted.

"I know you can, but it's not safe for you out here. Now go!" I said as another rocket flew past us. The Ravager Queen grabbed it and threw it back at the speeder while Nikki shot it in midair, which made that speeder explode as well. But the soldiers continued to relentlessly fire on us,

nearly overwhelming us to the point of death. I shielded Zero Two from the plasma bolts, but my suit began to start taking heavy damage from the bolts that did land on me until a hail of large blasts rained down from the sky, destroying two more of the speeders and killing any soldiers. As the dust cleared, a familiar voice came up over my comms.

"Maxwell Smith, did you miss us?" it said. I looked up and saw the Centurion flying overhead, firing on the remaining soldiers who immediately turned their attention to the ship.

"Celeste!" Nikki said, cheering.

"Friends of yours?" Zero Two asked. I just nodded and ran toward the final speeder, firing my shotgun. Amki, Eva, and Odango teleported down from the Centurion and began fighting the soldiers alongside me and Nikki as we made our way over to the remaining soldiers. Standing in the middle of the speeder was a soldier who had black armor with gold highlights holding what looked like a spear. Nikki and I took shelter behind one of the destroyed speeders and fired at the remaining speeder from behind our cover. Eva took up position from the left and used her concussive blasts on the ground to create shockwaves which launched some of the soldiers into the air, which Amki hit with her flail. The main soldier aimed his spear at the two of them and fired a beam of light at the two and scattered them. I took advantage of the distraction and grappled onto the soldier, punching him in the face and grabbing his spear. After I wrenched it free of his grip, I snapped the spear in two and stabbed him with one of the pieces, causing him to fall onto the floor and cough. As he struggled to get back up, I forcibly took off his visor to reveal the green skinned alien underneath the mask. Nikki appeared from behind and pointed her blaster at him as I held him up by his throat.

"You think taking innocent lives isn't gonna go unnoticed?" I asked as I continued to tighten my grip on his neck.

"I… did this… for our honorable General… Taarkin," the soldier replied, coughing. I angrily threw him back onto the floor of the speeder, making him cough up blood.

"There is nothing honorable about this! These people did nothing to you and you're just slaughtering them!" Nikki said.

"You tell General Taarkin that his days of tyranny are over!" I said.

"He… sends… his regards," the soldier said, wheezing before he removed the chestplate, revealing some kind of device with a rapidly blinking light. My eyes got wide as soon as I realized just what it was.

"GET BACK!" I yelled at Nikki. But by the time I jumped toward her, the device exploded, disintegrating the soldier, destroying the speeder, and launching me and Nikki a few miles away from it with parts flying. When I hit the ground, everything went fuzzy and I felt dazed and confused. Through the moments that I blinked, I saw a small transport ship fly down and land just a few feet away from me. The bay door opened and more of Taarkin's soldiers poured out, a few crowding around Nikki before they picked her up and took off the device that held her armor. I stumbled back to my feet and launched my grappling hook at them, but I caught the guy holding Nikki's armor device instead. When I reeled him in close enough and sliced him in half with my arm blade, I picked up the armor disc and slowly limped after the other soldiers, stumbling over some of the debris littering the place. I fired more shots from my shotgun, but it was no use. By the time I had regained my senses and began running at full speed, the transport was already in the air and had jumped straight to lightspeed. I crumpled to my knees, my shotgun clattering to the ground and the tears rolling down my face as I looked up at the sky and let out an agonizing scream which was carried by the desert's winds.

**To Be Continued…**


	7. Chapter 7: City on the Edge of Battle

HuniePop Space Adventures

Chapter 7: City on the Edge of Battle

I held my face in my hands, completely distraught. They took her instead of me. WHY? I could feel my rage building and the demon inside of me trying to claw its way out as I asked myself that question over and over again. The thought of Nikki being in trouble and getting killed was all I could think about at the moment and the fact that she was now in the hands of our enemies made it that much worse.

"Max? You're needed in the med bay," Eva said, breaking my thoughts. I just sighed in sadness and followed her to the med bay, where Celeste was shining a pen light into one of Hiro's eyes while everyone else was just standing around.

"Look, is there a point to this?" Hiro asked, pushing the light away.

"Yes, there is. You two were in cryostasis for ten years, so I need to make sure that your senses are still in good condition," Celeste replied, pointing the light back into his eye.

"You know, this is a nice ship. Looks very spacious. Kind of like the ships we have," Zero Two said.

"Really? 'Cause last time I checked, humans didn't even HAVE these sorts of spaceships," Amki replied. Celeste suddenly noticed me standing in the doorway and came right over to me.

"Max. I'm glad you could make it," she said, hugging me.

"It's not like I had any other choice," I replied sadly. Celeste just looked up at me and placed her hands on my face.

"We WILL get her back, I promise. But, right now, I need your insight on something."

"Yeah, these two won't stop talking about VIRM and all sorts of other crap that none of us can even understand," Amki said.

"Look, I swear to god, I'm losing it. Can't someone, anyone, tell me what the hell is going on?!" Hiro asked, panicking.

"Right? We've been on this ship for twenty whole minutes and I haven't seen one of these so-called jetpacks. Not one!" Zero Two added, holding up a finger. All of us, Hiro included, just gave her confused looks.

"What have you been asking her?" I asked Amki.

"I just… thought they had jetpacks because they're rambling on that they're from the future and all that!" Amki said. I just looked at her funny.

"What Amki says is true. Both Hiro and Zero Two have claimed that they come from the year of 2139. What's more is that they keep mentioning VIRM, Dr. FRANXX, the klaxosaurs and klaxosapiens, as well as a number of other things," Celeste said.

"Wait, so… these two are from 119 years in the future?!" I asked.

"Yes, but, parts of what they are saying does not make sense. For instance, this 'VIRM' planet they keep mentioning doesn't exist. Even with the rock you recovered from the crash site to go off of, there isn't a planet in this entire sector with the same elemental properties," Celeste said.

"Well, maybe it hasn't formed yet," Hiro said.

"That is true, but planets don't just appear out of nowhere. If it isn't here now, it won't be there for thousands of years."

"OK, what about the 'klaxosaurs'?" I asked. Celeste's response was to pull up a display of a monstrous creature with black scales and blue skin underneath. It also had the head of a dragon and a mace-like tail.

"THAT is a Klaxosaur," she said.

"Umm, they don't look like that," Zero Two said.

"That's what the species catalog pictures them as. And there's a huge variety of them. Some have wings, some breathe fire, some are small enough to sneak through the tightest of crevasses. And they all reside on the planet, Klaxen."

"Are they dangerous?" I asked.

"Only if they are attacked. They are mostly benign and never leave their planet," Eva replied.

"And then comes the issue with this 'Dr. FRANXX'," Celeste said.

"Let me guess: he doesn't exist," Hiro said with a bit of disappointment in his voice.

"Unfortunately, no. But that's not what intrigues me the most."

"What is?" Odango asked. Celeste just brought up a screen that showed Hiro and Zero Two's vitals.

"It's their vitals. They're very unusual for any ordinary humans on Earth," Celeste replied.

"That's because we're half human! Zero Two is a human-klaxosapien hybrid that was created by Dr. FRANXX and I recently turned into one myself! Of course our blood would be different!" Hiro insisted.

"That's what I also thought at first. But when I isolated your human genome, I found something rather intriguing. There's some kind of extra properties in your blood that aren't normally found in normal humans that I can't explain. Not only that, but both your arteries and veins have switched places. They still function like normal, albeit in the reverse way, but it's highly irregular for a normal human to be born that way," Celeste concluded.

"Which means what?!" Hiro asked.

"I don't know. That's why I needed Max's insight."

"And I think I have a pretty good idea what it is," I replied.

"You do?" Amki said.

"Look, this gonna sound crazy. I mean, yeah, everything is already crazy enough, but this might be the most crazy: You guys are from another dimension," I said. Everyone just fell quiet at that statement for a few seconds.

"Huh?" Zero Two asked.

"Look, yes, that sounds like I'm crazy, but all of this proves it. The inverted blood vessels, the fact that VIRM doesn't exist, the klaxosaurs are just giant dinosaur-like creatures. It took me just five minutes to come to that conclusion and, chances are that I'm right!"

"And tell us, Mr. I-Know-Everything-About-The-Universe, how in the HELL did you come up with that?" Amki asked. I just turned around and located a whiteboard, which I began drawing on to try and explain.

"Yep, he totally lost it," Odango said behind me.

"Shush," Celeste replied. After I had finished with the drawing, I pointed to each universe as I demonstrated.

"OK, imagine that this is your universe. It's 119 years in the future, VIRM exists, and the klaxosaurs look like… whatever they looked like to you. And this is OUR universe. It's 2020, VIRM doesn't exist and the klaxosaurs are harmless dinosaur-like creatures that reside on their own planet. See, these planets occupy the same region, but they vibrate at different frequencies so they may be absent from one universe but is there in another. This is what we call the multiverse," I explained.

"Hmm. Go on," Zero Two said, looking interested. Or maybe she was pretending to look interested.

"That's all I had."

"Interesting. Do go on."

"Either way, Max's logic is sound. The multiverse is a common belief that many different scientists across the galaxy have often wondered if it were to be true. In fact, I believe there was a human on Earth who supported this theory. Stephen Hawking, correct?" Celeste asked. I nodded in response.

"OK. So then how did we get here?" Zero Two asked.

"Hiro, perhaps you could tell us the events that took place moments before you entered cryostasis?"

"Well, we were heading to VIRM's home world to destroy it. I was there in body, but Zero Two's spirit was inside the Strelizia while her body was back on Earth. We set the Strelizia to self-destruct and we forced the bomb we were carrying into the core of the planet and moments before the bomb detonated, Zero Two's body just… materialized out of nowhere and then next thing you know, we were falling through space even though the bomb had detonated and half of the Strelizia was gone. After that, one of the pieces of VIRM tore through our hull and forced the entire FRANXX into cryostasis. But, I don't get how we ended up here!" Hiro explained. The entire room fell silent for a while and everyone's eyes fell on me to explain.

"Well, best theory I got: the explosion was so violent that it ripped a hole in the dimensional barrier and you fell through that hole and that's how you ended up here," I said.

"Really?" Amki asked.

"I did say 'theory', didn't I?"

"I believe you," Zero Two said. Hiro just looked at her in disbelief.

"You believe him?!" he asked.

"Well, he took the time and effort to make that drawing AND he gave a pretty reasonable explanation. Why shouldn't we believe him?"

"In any case, we need to table the multiverse discussion until after we rescue Nikki. That is, if we can identify who those soldiers work for," Celeste said.

"Those soldiers belong to General Taarkin. He works for this entity called the Overlord who wants to 'correct' the entire universe," I said.

"It's true. The Overlord already has the Crucible, but he still needs the Infernite energy to make his dreams of universal domination come true. Energy that Max has coursing through his veins," Rhea added.

"OK. So why take Nikki?" Odango asked. Everyone just fell silent in thought.

"She's the bait," Zero Two finally said.

"Sorry?" Eva asked.

"You have something they want. You love that girl so much. Therefore, he's trying to bait you over there so they can get what they want."

"Well, that does make sense, but the Overlord gave his crusade the order not to harm Nikki. So why would Taarkin just disobey orders?" I asked.

"It sounds like Taarkin has other plans that do not involve the Overlord," Celeste said.

"Well, the Overlord's not going to be his number one problem. Rhea, where exactly is the heart of Taarkin's empire?" I asked. Rhea just looked at me like I was crazy.

"Y-you wish to head to the center of Taarkin's stronghold?! Where he has the largest military might in the galaxy?! Are you insane?!" she asked.

"It doesn't matter. I know exactly where Taarkin's empire is stationed. The planet of Imperialus. Many travelers avoid that planet because of Taarkin's brutality and bloodshed and they believe that he will make soldiers of anyone who does land there," Celeste said.

"Then that's where we need to go," I said. But just as I was about to head straight for the command bridge, Rhea stood in front of the doorway, blocking my path.

"Look, I understand that you wish to save your lover, but this is crazy! Taarkin is the most powerful warmonger under the leadership of the Overlord. He is tactful, ruthless, and he will not hesitate to kill every single one of us. I am truly sorry, I am. But chances are that your friend is already-!" Rhea tried to explain. But before she could finish, Celeste grabbed her by the neck and pinned her up against the wall, her katana against Rhea's neck.

"DON'T you DARE finish that sentence. I understand that you mean well and I understand that you are afraid of Taarkin, but I do not condone cowards on my ship! If you wish to stay here on Zandor, then I will not stop you. But if you wish to help us fight, then you will muster up every bit of courage you have and use that to help us destroy that pitiful monster and bring his empire crumbling to the ground! Do I make myself clear?!" Celeste said. Rhea silently nodded her head and Celeste released her before walking out of the room without another word, leaving the rest of us silent.

"I like her," Zero Two finally said, making us all turn our heads towards her. I immediately pursued Celeste to the bridge, where she tried locating Imperialus on the navigation map.

"Celeste, don't you think you were being a bit too harsh on Rhea?" I asked.

"Don't pretend like you wanted to hear that nonsense come out of her mouth. She should know better than that!" Celeste replied.

"OK, yeah, I didn't wanna hear it! But Rhea's just scared! She's been kept prisoner on the Overlord's ship for God-knows-how-long and she's seen first hand how lethal our enemies are! Of course she thinks that this is crazy!"

"I made an oath the second you two stepped foot on my ship that I would protect you with every fiber of my being! And so far, you been unwillingly transported to two different planets and kidnapped once! I haven't been doing my part in protecting you two!"

"Then maybe you're pushing yourself too hard," I said. Celeste immediately stopped and began to cry in despair and frustration. I gently hugged her as she continued to cry.

"This is uncharted territory for humans. No place for any sane human being to be. That's why I'm so hard on everyone," Celeste replied.

"Look, I know that you're as afraid as I am of losing her. But, Nikki's a strong girl. We'll get her back. And Taarkin will have hell to pay. If not through me, then through the Overlord," I said, drying Celeste's eyes. She just smiled for a bit before a sudden alarm went off, which pulled up a map of the ship with a glowing red dot in the cargo hold.

"We have intruders!" Celeste said, running straight for the cargo hold. However, when we got there, I saw the intruders were none other than the Ravager Queen and a few of her sisters. Celeste, of course, took out her katanas and readied herself for combat.

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa! Hold your horses! They're on our side!" I exclaimed, running in front of Celeste and holding my hands out. Celeste backed down but she didn't sheath her katanas.

"May I ask what you are doing on my ship?" she asked the Queen.

"I apologize for the intrusion. But I figured that when Taarkin's men took your friend, you would not hesitate to go after him and make him pay. We wish to help you so that we and all those who have suffered at his hands will finally have justice," the Queen replied.

"That is out of the question! This is not-" Celeste started to say. But I put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"Celeste, she's right. This was their war to begin with. It only makes sense that we help them finish it," I said. Celeste just sighed and holstered her katanas calmly.

"Very well then. If Max says that you should be allowed to come, then so be it. But I am the captain of this ship and the leader of this team so I give the directions," she said. The Queen just smiled slightly and kneeled to the ground, the rest of her sisters following suit.

"I thank you for allowing us to join you. We will follow you into battle so we may finally be rid of this pestilence that has made us suffer for 5 long years," the Queen said humbly. Both Celeste and I smiled at her and her humility. As she got up, I felt something tugging my arm and looked down. It was Paki, the little Zandorian girl that me and Nikki had rescued earlier.

"Oh, no. You're staying here with everyone else, you little rascal!" I said, playfully with a smile. But Paki just pouted and stamped the ground with her foot.

"He is right, little one. Where we are going you cannot follow," the Queen added. Paki again stamped her foot on the ground with a huff. She obviously wasn't budging, so I kneeled to the ground and gently petted her head.

"I know you want to help us and I'm glad that you're being brave. But you need to stay here and help the others be strong. Can you do that for me?" I asked. Paki just started to pout and cry a bit before Celeste kneeled down as well.

"What Max says is true. The soldiers would easily hurt you and your mother would be worried sick. But your people need someone strong like you, so it's best if you stay here," she said. Paki dried off her eyes and nodded. But when she turned away to rejoin her village, she turned back to me and gave me a hug, which I returned to her. She then hugged Celeste, spoke to her in her Zandorian language, and gave her a photo before going back to her mother.

"What's that?" I asked.

"The little one said it belongs to the pilots. She also said thank you and she hopes your friend will be OK," the Queen replied. Celeste just stood up and smiled.

"Then let us make haste to Imperialus at once!" she said, heading straight for the bridge.

**Nikki's perspective, Imperialus**

I slowly opened my eyes to find myself in a large open room with a lot of computers as well as a large window which stared out into a crimson sky. As I was admiring the view, someone walked in front of me, somehow standing on the ceiling. And then I realized: they weren't standing on the ceiling. I was hanging upside down. The person pointed my head upward to view their face, which looked like a middle-aged man with dark green skin and short, whiteish hair.

"I take it there wasn't much trouble getting her here?" the man asked someone off to the side.

"None at all, General Taarkin. The male did try to rescue her, but the bomb had left him too disorientated for him to catch up," one voice said.

"Good. Then he should be on his way here now," Taarkin said.

"General, you do realize that this is extremely risky, yes? The Overlord DID give us orders not to harm the girl," another voice said.

"While that is true, the Overlord's methods are severely delaying our progress of our conquest."

"General, I would seriously reconsider doing this. I understand the reason you are doing this and I know that your ways are always right, but we should consider the possibility that there are, indeed, other ways!" the second voice said. Taarkin pulled out a pistol and shot the second guy just outside of my vision, his body falling to the ground with an audible thud. Taarkin holstered his pistol and stared out the window, admiring the view of the horizon.

"Tell me, girl. How much do you wager that your lover will come to rescue you?" he asked me, his back still turned to me.

"I think you already know the answer to that," I replied. Taarkin just scoffed at my answer before he turned back to me.

"Of course you would wager your own life. But, then again, I do expect that he will come to save you. It's in his nature."

"Yeah? And what happens if the Overlord gets here first when he finds out? Either way, it's gonna end badly for you if you hurt or kill me."

"I don't plan to kill you, girl. The Overlord wishes to have the Infernite energy in order to fulfill his plans of conquest. And I will give it to him. When the male arrives, my soldiers will rain down upon him and I will sap every bit of that energy from his veins when we have him in our custody. When we are finished, I'll kill him and leave you here to mourn for him. The Overlord himself will greatly reward me for my efforts. He will bring our enemies to their knees!" Taarkin exclaimed. I just rolled my eyes at how ridiculous he was sounding. But he came back over to me and forced me to look at him again.

"And you, my Terran friend, will help me," he finished before he turned and headed out the door.

**Hiro's perspective, The Centurion**

As we were on our way to Imperialus, Celeste led me and Zero Two to a room with a twin bed and a desk.

"These will be your living quarters for the time being. There is a clothing fabricator down the hall if you decide to change into something more comfortable. I'm sorry that there isn't more we can do to help," Celeste said. Zero Two immediately ran over to the bed and landed face first onto it.

"This bed feels so SOFT!" Zero Two said, her voice muffled. Before I could walk over to the bed, Celeste grabbed me by the arm and handed me a photo, which I took.

"One of the Zandorians found that on your ship. I thought that it might've belonged to you," she said. I just nodded sadly and sat down on the bed while Celeste left in silence and Zero Two began to bounce on the bed. The photo Celeste had given me was the one we took moments before two of our friends had gotten married. Or WOULD'VE been, if not for APE ruining it. The picture was of our Squad: Futoshi, Zorome, Miku, Goro, Mitsuru, Kokoro, Ikuno, Ichigo, and, of course, me and Zero Two. My eyes began to tear up as I remembered the memories we had with Squad 13. Zero Two stopped jumping up and down on the bed and put her arms around me.

"Are you OK, darling?" she asked as the tears began to run down my face.

"I don't know what OK means anymore. We're in a completely different dimension hundreds of years in the past where nobody knows us. It's just… so much to take in," I said, putting my hand on my head.

"It could be worse. We could be dead."

"That's not the point. We shouldn't be here."

"Darling, we should just be glad that we're OK and that these people are willing to help. What matters is that we are together, right?"

"That's just the thing! How exactly are you here? Your body was left on Earth! How is it that your body just suddenly appeared on the Strelizia moments before we destroyed VIRM?" I asked. Zero Two just sat back, held her face in her hands, and began to cry.

"I don't remember, Darling! I try to remember but it's not there! I'm sorry I can't remember!" she said, sobbing. I just wrapped my arms around her and hugged her tightly, trying to calm her down.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. Look, I couldn't be more happy that you're alive and that you're here with me now. I just want to understand what's going on, that's all."

"But I can't remember. That's the problem, Darling!"

"Then we'll figure it out! We can get through this together! And I'm sure that these people would be more than willing to help us!" I said. Zero Two stopped crying and broke off the hug for a while before she got off the bed and walked over to the door, which opened for her.

"You're right. But not before we help them," she said before walking out the door.

**Max's perspective**

After almost ten minutes of moving throughout hyperspace, we finally stopped in front of a grey planet which had a city so large that we could see the lights from space. Rhea, Celeste, the Ravager Queen and the rest of the team joined me on the bridge and looked out at the planet with me.

"So, this is Imperialus?" I asked.

"Unfortunately, yes. It was once known as Stellan, which means 'peace', until General Taarkin came and transformed it into the warmongering empire it is. The worst part is that the people that live in the city are basically prisoners. Any sign of resistance or rebellion is met with lethal and deadly force without even so much as a trial," Rhea explained. I shuddered to think about how bad things were down there, especially for the children who had to grow up on a planet like that. My thoughts were broken by the sound of Hiro vomiting into the waste bin behind me.

"Oh god… Is that normal?" he asked.

"It's your first hyper jump. You'll get used to it," I replied.

"I didn't catch what you said. What was that?" Hiro asked, talking a bit louder. My guess was he also got hit with some temporary deafness. As I helped Hiro try to stand up, Celeste pulled up a large map of the city.

"The base of operations for Taarkin's empire is this tower here," Celeste said, pointing to a large tower that was separate from the rest of the city surrounded by some kind of wall.

"Well, I give this guy credit. He's way more paranoid than I thought," I said.

"That wall is there in case if a riot that gets too out-of-control," Rhea said. But before she could say anything more or anyone could reply to that, one of the communicators started beeping like crazy, which Celeste picked up.

"Who is this?" she asked. Her eyes suddenly went wide and she gave the communicator to me. I held it up to my ear and listened to see who was calling.

"Are you there, Terran?" General Taarkin's voice said. My rage started to build a bit, but I inhaled gently and replied.

"What the hell do you want?" I said, signaling Celeste to put the comms on speaker for everyone else to hear.

"A simple trade, of course. You seek the female, yes?"

"What did you do to her?"

"She is alright… for the moment. But, if you do not comply to my demands, I can't promise that she'll remain that way."

"What is it that you want?"

"The Infernite energy, of course. If you agree to give me the energy, you will see her alive and well again," Taarkin said. The entire command bridge was just stunned by that statement.

"Give me a bit of time to think it through," I replied.

"Very well. But, just so we don't have any delays, I shall periodically give you a brief reminder of our deal," Taarkin replied. Without any warning, we heard the sound of electricity crackling and Nikki screaming. It went on for about 5 seconds before the screams and the crackling stopped. And then Taarkin's voice came back on to taunt us again.

"You have 2 hours to reply to the demands," he said before the feed went dark. I angrily slammed my fist on the table as everyone else just remained silent for a minute.

"It's a feint. He will kill both you and the girl either way if he gets what he wants," the Ravager Queen said.

"Yeah, I figured as much. So, any ideas?" I asked.

"We make our approach from the city and work our ways to the wall guarding the tower," Celeste replied.

"How risky is that?"

"Uuuhhh, does almost hundreds of soldiers patrolling the entire city sound risky?" Odango asked. I just gave her a look that said yes in a very annoyed way.

"Even if we could breach the wall without alerting the soldiers in the city, Taarkin has his own praetorian guard of elite guards that act as the last line of defense to the tower," Rhea added.

"Would the BFG work?" Amki asked.

"It would, but I don't feel comfortable using it in an area with innocent civilians. Plus, we don't know how many of the elite guard lies beyond that wall," I said.

"In either case, there are 7 of us plus 25 Ravagers against a whole city full of soldiers that have had decent training like we have," Celeste said.

"9 of us, actually! We're going with you!" Zero Two said, coming up behind us dressed in one of the same prototype battle suits Nikki and I wore on our first mission. She had two pistols attached to each of her thighs.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Zero Two, you can't be serious!" Hiro said, trying to hold her back.

"Well, this is what I meant when I said that we would help them, so let's get to it!"

"You're not going," I said.

"What?"

"No offense, but I don't trust the two of you going out there in case if a serious fight breaks out."

"Plus the fact that you ran into the middle of a firefight on Zandor without any armor on, which states that you're reckless," Celeste added.

"That's because there were innocent lives at stake! Don't act like you wouldn't do the same!" Zero Two said, agitated.

"Look, Zero Two, I admit that maybe we should help, but this is way out of our league!" Hiro said.

"Darling, we've fought giant monsters before. A bunch of soldiers is just a cakewalk."

"That's where you're wrong. The klaxosaurs you fought are just lumbering beasts without any real thoughts other than just 'kill anything that gets in the way'. These are battle-hardened soldiers with more years of experience than you have. I appreciate that you want to help, but this mission is too dangerous," I said.

"Well, we live for danger, Darling and I. You found us when no one else was looking and we need to return the favor to you somehow. That girl… you care so much about her, don't you? What would you do if it were me in that situation and Darling begged you for help?" Zero Two asked. I just sighed. She did have a good point.

"Alright then. Since I guess that there's no way to talk you out of this, you can both come. But you stay in the middle of the group where it's safe. If we keep a tight formation and stick to the shadows, we should be able to get to the wall without too much trouble," I said, earning a smile from Zero Two.

"Yes, but that still leaves the problem of the praetorian guard. The second that we breach that wall, they'll come straight for us," Celeste said.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Let's suit up," I said. After about five minutes, we teleported down to the planet's surface. Me, Hiro, Zero Two, Celeste, Eva, Amki, Odango, and Rhea split into one group on the east side of the city while the Queen and the rest of the Ravagers split into another group on the west side. But when we got down to the surface, all we saw was a horrific scene. We had been teleported to a secluded alleyway in between two buildings, but in the alleyway were four bodies, all dead. One body had gotten to the wall and had written, "Resistance is futile" on the wall with his own blood, as if it were a warning to anyone brave enough to try and start a rebellion against Taarkin.

"Jeez. Celeste, you said it was bad, but you didn't say that it would be THIS bad," Amki said. Celeste pulled up the mini map on her wrist and huddled us together to show us.

"Here's what we're going to do. We'll stick to the alleyways until we can get close enough to the wall. There is an APC packed with high-grade weapons that takes a normal route close to it and then blast a hole in it. From there, once we've dealt with the elite guard, we'll make our way up the tower, kill Taarkin, and rescue Nikki," she explained.

"Remember, be STEALTHY. The last thing that we need is a whole bunch of soldiers bearing down on us on the way there," I said.

"Look, I don't mean to sound paranoid, but don't we kinda stand out?" Hiro asked.

"I'm actually with Hiro on this. One of us is a 7-foot tall, red, four-armed alien and one of us carries a giant stick!" Odango added, earning glares from both Amki and Rhea.

"We'll improvise," I replied.

"What about the Ravagers? Don't they also stand out?" Odango asked.

"They have camouflage and years of stealthy experience. They can handle their own," Rhea replied.

"Alright, team. Let's move out," I said. Without any delay, we immediately started making our way to the fortress' wall, sticking to the shadows without any guards noticing us. We were making really good time, too. But as we were almost ten feet away from our destination, Zero Two suddenly stopped and peeked back around the corner behind us. Both me and Hiro turned back to see what exactly had gotten her attention. As it turns out, right in the middle of the street were three soldiers who were standing above a civilian while two more, a woman and her child, helplessly looked on. The soldiers looked a bit different than the ones on Zandor, as they had visors over the majority of their heads with only the mouths uncovered, making them look a bit like RoboCop. Except, you know, the armor was black. Just as the civilian on the ground was about to get back up, one of the soldiers mercilessly shot him in the head, which killed him instantly. Both the mother and her child immediately began to cry in despair as the soldier bent down to check the dead civilian's pulse.

"We need to help them," Zero Two said quietly. I just sighed in sadness.

"We will. But we need to get to the rendezvous point right now," I replied.

"Why can't we help them now?"

"Zero Two, we can't worry about this right now. We have to go!" Hiro said silently.

"What they're doing is cruel! We should be doing something more than just running!"

"Yes, I understand that and I do feel sad that things like that are happening to these people. But that's just how war and dictatorships work. They don't care who gets hurt. They just keep them in line and give them orders to follow," I replied sadly, walking away with Hiro following behind me.

"Look, what's gonna happen to these people if we DO manage to take down Taarkin?" Hiro asked, grabbing me by the shoulder.

"I don't know. I'm trying to figure that out."

"Look, Zero Two's right, we can't just leave these people to die."

"I don't plan to. But we have to work with what we have and go from there," I said. But when I turned to face Hiro, I saw that Zero Two was no longer behind him. I immediately ran back to the corner and peeked back around it. The soldiers were searching the body of the civilian they shot, but Zero Two was nowhere in sight. I looked around until I spotted her in an alleyway that was adjacent to the soldiers, both of her pistols out and ready to fire. When she looked back at me, I hastily tried to give her a signal to stand down, but she just gave me an angry look and pointing one of her pistols at the soldiers, her finger on the trigger. Quick thinking, I silently launched my grappling hook at the wall of the alleyway and slingshot myself at her, catching her before she could fire. Unfortunately, we accidentally hit a piece of garbage in a dumpster, which fell to the ground with a loud clatter, alerting the guards.

"What was that?" one soldier asked.

"I'll go check it out," the second soldier said, walking over to the alleyway. Zero Two and I hid behind the dumpster with my hand over her mouth and my other arm around her to keep her from trying to blow our cover. The soldier pointed his flashlight down the alleyway and started to slowly inch down the alley. But before he even saw us, a small, rat-like creature hopped down from the dumpster and ran past the soldier.

"False alarm. Just another Scrounger," the soldier finally said, leaving the alleyway and returning to the other two soldiers.

"I'll take these two back home. I'll meet you back at HQ," the third soldier said. I peeked back around the corner as the other two soldiers mounted up onto two bikes and sped away, leaving the third soldier alone with the woman and her child before making them walk toward their home. Before I could react, Zero Two ran past me, sticking to the shadows as the soldier and the captives made their way home. I just groaned to myself and pursued her until the three entered a house that was actually not that far away from the wall and silently crept up next to the doorway. Zero Two snuck in through an open window as the soldier helped situate the two civilians.

"You're safe now. Remember to follow the curfew and guidelines set by General Taarkin. These rules will help you to stay alive. Have a nice day," the soldier said. But as he was walking away, the woman grabbed him by the arm.

"You need to wake up! Don't you see what you're doing?!" the woman asked, hysterical.

"I am following directions from General Taarkin himself. And his directions help to keep the city safe."

"Jarkis, wake up! You're my husband! You should be fighting this, not reinforcing it!"

"I advise you to calm down. Your heartbeat has greatly elevated."

"Please, I begging you!" the woman pleaded. But the soldier just turned back around where Zero Two was standing, silhouetted by the darkness with only her cyan eyes glowing in the dark.

"Hey, who are you?! Identify yourself!" the soldier said, pointing his rifle at her. Zero Two didn't reply and instead roundhouse kicked the soldier before wrestling the gun out of his hands. The soldier quickly recovered and wrestled her to the ground. Zero Two's horns had noticeably grown a bit and her eyes were starting to glow red. I snuck into the house and, just as the soldier wrenched the rifle free from Zero Two's grip and prepared to kill her, I grabbed his head and slammed it into the wall, which knocked him out and made his helmet fall off. Both the mother and her child just stared in awe as Zero Two got up off the ground and Celeste, Hiro and the others walked in. Hiro immediately embraced Zero Two when he entered the room.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" Celeste asked Zero Two.

"I was helping them is what I was thinking," Zero Two replied calmly.

"At the cost of risking our mission and Nikki's life?!"

"I don't see what the big deal is. Nobody saw us. And we're closer to the wall now."

"That's not the point! You just rushed without a plan and nearly got us caught!" Hiro said.

"OK, do you think you guys wanna keep it down before we actually DO get caught?" Amki hissed silently.

"I actually agree with Amki. Everyone just calm down," I said. Just as I had finished that sentence, the soldier got up, holding his head as he sat up. But when he got an eyeful of us, he didn't have the look of hostility or anger. It was… confusion.

"What… what's going on here?" he asked. The woman immediately ran over to him and embraced him for a while before she moved back and held his face in her hands.

"Jarkis… do you remember me?" she asked. The soldier put his own hands on the woman's face and smiled.

"Of course I do! You're the one I love with all my heart! My beautiful wife!" the soldier replied, which brought the woman to tears as they embraced again with the daughter joining in. However, the rest of us were completely confused. I went and picked up the helmet the soldier was once wearing and examined it for a bit before tossing it to Odango.

"Odango, can you do a scan of that helmet for me?" I asked. Odango complied and beams shot from her eyes as she started scanning the helmet. She suddenly stopped as the beams turned red and she reached into the helmet, pulling out a small square-shaped device.

"What is that?" Eva asked.

"I don't know. But it was positioned where the frontal lobe of the brain would be, and it was giving off a really weird frequency," Odango replied.

"Which means WHAT?" Amki asked.

"It's a mind control device," I said.

"Wait, you mean that Taarkin's soldiers were transformed into mindless zombies held against their will?" Odango asked.

"So that's how he did it. I often wondered how Taarkin was able to create an empire in a matter of days after the War of Stellan," Rhea said.

"Either way, this complicates things. If these soldiers are under mind control, that means that they're innocent and being held against their will," Celeste said.

"So, what do we do?" Hiro asked.

"Depends. Celeste, how far away is the APC?" I asked. Celeste checked her wrist map for a minute.

"It's nearly 10 minutes out. We should try to think of a way to keep the soldiers out of harm's way until it gets here," Celeste said. As she and Rhea helped the soldier and his family and Odango continued to study the chip some more, the rest of us tried to think up a plan.

**Nikki's perspective**

Ever wonder what it feels like to be electrocuted? It's not fun. As I continued to hang upside down, Taarkin paced back and forth in front of the window as he was still awaiting an answer from Max. After a while, he signaled on of his guards over to him.

"It appears that the human has momentarily forgotten our deal. Open up the comms and prepare to give the girl another shock," he said. As the guard moved back to the console for the electricity, another guard moved over to Taarkin and gave him a small disc.

"Apologies, General. It's Jeongho Yoon," he said. Taarkin nodded in approval and activated the disc, which brought up a hologram of Yoon himself.

"General Taarkin. I apologize for calling in unannounced, but the Overlord wishes to know of your progress," Yoon said.

"It's moving much faster than anticipated," Taarkin replied.

"Ah, so you've located the prisoners?"

"Not quite. But I do have a way of drawing them out," Taarkin replied. As he was talking to Yoon, one of the guards accidentally tripped and pulled the lever on the console, which caused the ring I was on to electrocute me again, which made me scream in pain. The guards hastily turned the machine off, but by then it was too late. Yoon had heard me.

"What was that noise?" Yoon asked.

"Nothing you should be concerned about, Yoon. As I said, I have a way of drawing them out," Taarkin replied. After a few seconds, I saw the look of horror on Yoon's face as he came to the realization.

"Taarkin, what the hell have you done?!" Yoon asked.

"I am merely speeding up progress. The human will come for the girl and the Overlord will have what he desires."

"Taarkin, the Overlord gave us specific rules not to harm the girl! Are you mad?!"

"No, I am not. But I am willing to do what it takes to make sure that our mission is complete as soon as possible," Taarkin said before he shut off the device. He then walked over to the guard that accidently turned on the console and, even as the guard was pleading for his life, mercilessly and audibly beat his skull in. He then walked back over to me and grabbed my face again.

"You had better hope that friends come soon… for your sake," he said to me.

**3****rd**** person perspective, Overlord's ship**

The Overlord sat quietly on his throne, staring out into the void while using his magic to levitate the Crucible from hand to hand. After a while, he grabbed it and stared at in silence.

"My beloved, I do this all for you. I only wish to bring peace to this universe," he said to himself. He then heard the sound of the doors opening and got up off his throne, turning to see Celeste and Philip walking up to him.

"My lord," Selene said, kneeling before him. The Overlord turned to Philip, who now had a visible scar running down the left side of his face.

"Are you feeling well, Philip?" the Overlord asked.

"A little. But, I never pegged you for the guy who actually gave a damn," Philip said.

"I care for the well-being of everyone on this ship, Philip."

"Oh yeah? Even that scumbag and his little bitch? You care about THEM so much?"

"I am only trying to avoid any choices that could lead to our demise. Have patience."

"Philip, I understand that you feel resentful because the human caught you off guard, but the Overlord will make sure that you have vengeance," Selene said, putting a hand on Philip's shoulder.

"I know that. I'm just… going through some stuff," Philip said. Without any warning, Yoon came through the door and ran up to where Philip and Selene were and bowed.

"My lord, forgive me!" he said, panting heavily.

"What is it, Yoon?" the Overlord asked.

"I have troubling news from Imperialus!"

**Max's perspective, Imperialus**

As the group was trying to think up a plan, I was busy trying to make sure that the BFG was in good condition to fire just in case if things would get too chaotic. As I did this, however, I noticed that Zero Two was sitting in the corner by herself, sulking. I put the BFG on my back and went and sat beside her.

"You OK?" I asked. Zero Two just sighed sadly.

"I don't know. I just felt that if I was helping innocent people, I would feel more… human. All my life, all I ever wanted was to feel like I was actually human. Darling was the first to make me feel that way and, in time, our squad also accepted me as a human. But, I still feel like there's a part of me that's missing," she said. I just smiled and petted her on the head.

"You were willing to save these people, even if it meant putting our mission at risk. I mean, yeah, that was stupid, but that's what it means to be human. We learn from our mistakes. Yet, we never give up in trying to do the right thing," I said, which made her smile. The soldier's wife came over to give us some tea to try and help calm our nerves.

"I want to thank you for saving my husband," she said.

"I'm sorry that you had to suffer from Taarkin's tyranny. I swear that we'll try to make him pay for his crimes and help everyone that we can," I said, which made the woman smile.

"The people of this planet are great warriors. They have survived far worse than Taarkin's madness. In fact, the legends often spoke of one warrior who was so compassionate, he did not abandon his fellow warriors when all hope seemed lost. He inspired them to take a stand and the battle turned in their favor," she said. After she had finished that story, Celeste's wrist started beeping.

"The APC is only two minutes out. We need to move out. Now," Celeste said.

"So, has anyone thought up a good plan on how to help the soldiers?" I asked. Everyone just went silent for a while until Odango spoke up.

"I actually do!" she said, transforming her arm into some sort of device with an antenna on top of it.

"OK, what is that?" Amki asked.

"THIS is an EMP emitter!"

"Why would we need an EMP emitter?" Eva asked.

"Well, do you remember that small device we found in the soldier's helmet? Well, I managed to hack into it under the radar and I found out that all of the soldier's helmets share the exact same frequency. With the chip inside the emitter, I can target the frequency that they share and when I fire it…" Odango started to say.

"We can shut the devices off and free the soldiers of their mind control without any casualties. Odango, I don't think that I say this enough, but you're a genius," I said. Odango just smiled.

"How much of the city can the EMP cover?" Celeste asked.

"The entire thing. Except… I would need to fire it outside. Close to the wall. Where all the soldiers are."

"That might not be a problem. All we need to do is get to the APC and you can fire the EMP," I said.

"Then we have a plan in place. We need to get Odango to the APC while refraining from killing any of the soldiers that attack us. If we can get them on our side, the battle could turn in our favor," Celeste said.

"Then let's get to it," Zero Two said, pulling out her pistols. Without any delay, we ran out into the streets and made our way over to the route to intercept the APC, once again sticking to the shadows. However, as the APC rolled up and the soldiers switched out, we ran in and took out the closest two soldiers. Alerted, the other soldiers opened fire on us as Odango and I ran toward the APC. Some more soldiers fired at us from behind, but they suddenly began levitating off of the ground. The reason for that was, of course, the camouflaged Ravager Queen, who tossed the soldiers aside without killing them. As the fight continued, one soldier emerged out of the APC with a rocket launcher and fired down on us. A few rockets came close to hitting us, but I fired my grappling hook at the soldier and kicked him, knocking the rocket launcher out of his hands. Odango jumped on top of the APC and activated the emitter, which fired a bright, blue beam into the air and created a blue wave which spread throughout the entire city. The soldiers that were attacking immediately stopped as the helmets became shrouded in electricity and they fell to the ground, unconscious and the streets fell silent. After a while, a few of the soldiers got back up before taking off their helmets and looking around in confusion. Many of the civilians taking shelter inside came out to see them and many of the soldiers ran into the arms of their families and embraced them while the rest were helped up by Celeste and the rest of the team.

"Well done," I said to Odango. She just smiled and gave me a thumbs up before we both hopped down from the APC to help the soldiers.

**Nikki's perspective**

"General Taarkin!" one of the guards shouted. Taarkin walked over to where the guard was and I looked over and saw on a monitor that a bunch of white lights were turning red all at once.

"What's happening?" Taarkin asked.

"It's the soldiers! Their helmets are shutting off and their being released of their control!"

"How is that possible?"

"An EMP emitted on the west side near the wall and has spread throughout the entire city!" another guard said. Taarkin walked back over to the window in anger before his demeanor calmed down a bit, as if in satisfaction.

"They're here. Perfect. Ready the elite guard for their capture at once," Taarkin said. But as he was walking back over to me, a large hologram of the Overlord's face suddenly appeared.

"General Taarkin!" the Overlord said in a pissed off tone. Taarkin slowly turned back to face the hologram.

"My lord. To what do I owe this honor?"

"You have disobeyed my orders. I gave you specific orders not to harm the girl!"

"I am simply speeding up progress, my lord. The human and his team have been found in the city of my planet and I was just about to send out my elite guard to capture them immediately. I did this all for the glory of your will."

"And what do you hope to gain from this?"

"I have a machine. It's capable of extracting the Infernite energy from the human's blood and when the process is complete, it will be yours."

"Then you are a fool."

"…What?"

"Do you think that it will be that simple? What the human has is not as small and simple as you think it is. The energy has not built up enough power to be able to extract it. No matter how much you claim that it may work, it won't. Now, I will give you a chance to redeem yourself. You will return the girl to the human male at once and you will return to my ship with your troops so we can concoct a new plan," the Overlord said. I just slightly laughed a bit.

"Didn't you hear, Overlord? Taarkin just lost his entire military force and he's been left with nothing! They've been freed and there's nothing he can do about it!" I said. Taarkin angrily signaled one of his guards, who flipped the lever on the console and activated the electricity again, which violently electrocuted me worse than the first two times they did it. After the electrocution stopped, Taarkin turned back to the Overlord.

"You dare belittle me? This is MY planet! You asked ME to help you because of my expertise and strategy. My device will work! The energy you sought will be yours to wield!" he said.

"You miss the point, Taarkin. Your military force has been turned against you. The human will bring vengeance down on your empire. He will wipe out your elite guard. Destroy everything you built. Reap justice for those you have enslaved. You will beg me for help. But I will not give it to you."

"Then to hell with you! You dare to insult MY ingenuity?! Then perhaps I shall use the Infernite energy for MYSELF! I will become a GOD! And after I have killed the human male and his pathetic friends, I'm coming for you! And I will bathe the star ways in your own blood!"

"We disagree…" the Overlord said before the hologram disappeared, leaving Taarkin to stand in front of the window in anger.

"General, do you still wish for the elite guard to capture the male?" one of the guards asked.

"Send them out. Vaporize the city. Kill every man, woman, and child in the city and bring the male here immediately! We will not let anyone stand against the might of Imperialus!" Taarkin said.

"Sir, yes sir!" the guard said. Taarkin then walked back over to me and grabbed me by the face again.

"The only reason I won't kill you is because when I have successfully extracted the energy from his blood, I will make him watch as I make you part of my elite guard before I have you split his skull open. And you will be my weapon that will destroy the Overlord once and for all," he said. I angrily spit in his face in response.

"Go to hell," I said.

"Poor choice of words," Taarkin replied before slapping me across the face and making everything go dark.

**Max's perspective**

The streets were filled with clamor and commotion as the freed soldiers embraced their families and loved ones. The rest of the soldiers were brought up to speed and tended to by Rhea and Odango.

"So, what's the damage?" I asked Celeste as I walked up to her.

"Only minor injuries and some confusion, but no casualties. It looks like everything turned out OK," she said.

"I can't believe that Taarkin was even capable of this. Turning the great men of this planet against their families and each other," the Ravager Queen said.

"Well, like I said, he's a coward. Of course he wouldn't want to get his hands dirty," I said. As if on cue, a hologram of Taarkin's face suddenly appeared in several spots all around the city, making the Ravager Queen growl in anger and many of the people shudder in fear.

"People of Stellan! For years, I have given you peace and tranquility that you so desperately sought. I only had one recommendation for all of you: to follow the guidelines that I set so that there would not be any needless violence. But it seems that you have not appreciated this peace. You speak out against me, there are too many rebels, and you take solitude from foreigners! But no more. This will be the day where your pathetic race will finally be erased from existence like the insects that you are! My elite guard will burn this planet to its very core and leave nothing of it behind! So kiss your children and your loved ones goodbye, because none of you will live to see another day," he said before the hologram disappeared and the people began to shout and cry in fear. Me and the rest of the team just stood there in shock and disbelief.

"He wasn't lying. The entire tower has been activated and the west side gates are about to open. He's going to kill everyone in the city," Celeste said.

"Well, maybe we can help them! We could teleport everyone onto the ship and we could take them somewhere-," Hiro started to say.

"There isn't enough time! And we don't have nearly enough room on the Centurion. I'm sorry but, it looks like some of these people might not make it out of here alive," Celeste said sadly. Zero Two and Rhea both came to tears while Amki just looked downhearted. I just clenched my fists in anger. This couldn't be the end. We had come so far and saved so many people. And yet, Taarkin didn't care about what lives were lost or who got hurt. Everyone around us was panicking or crying in despair even though Eva, Odango, and Hiro were trying to calm them down. The thought of Taarkin slaughtering innocent people just because they wouldn't stay in line made my blood boil. But then another thought came back to my mind. I immediately ran back over to the APC and jumped on top of it before looking back out at the crowd.

"Is that it?! We're just gonna give up like that?!" I yelled out to the crowd, which quieted them down. Everyone, including the team and the Ravagers, looked up at me in awe and confusion. Odango then transformed her arm into a camera and several holograms of me appeared all over the city.

"We can't just let it end like this! Taarkin thinks that we're just easy pickings and we can't fight back, but we aren't! I understand that you're all scared and you have every right to be! But you can't let that tyrant use that fear against you! This planet was yours first! It's time that someone put a stop to Taarkin's madness!" I yelled.

"But… we're not soldiers…" one woman said.

"I don't need soldiers. I only need those who can believe! Taarkin may say that he has the strongest military force on the planet, but there are more of us than there are of them! I was told that this planet had great warriors once! And no matter what invaders they fought, no matter how strong that they were, no matter what the odds were, they never gave up! They kept fighting even if it seemed like all hope was lost! And this planet can have that kind of warrior again! But only if we fight the threat together! Not just for the planet, but for our families, our friends, our loved ones! So, who will stand with me and fight?!" I yelled. Everyone was just completely silent for a few minutes, making me think that I came on too strong. But, the first soldier we had rescued stepped forward in front of all the others.

"The human is right. The day that we lay down our weapons is the day that this planet truly dies. And if our planet dies, then the ancestors who have died trying to protect this planet will have died for nothing. We can't allow that to happen!" he said. The rest of the soldiers raised up their firearms and stepped forward, giving me a salute. Celeste, Hiro, and the rest of the team jumped on top of the APC and stood alongside me as the town began to shout and some of the civilians armed themselves.

"Quite the speech you gave there," Celeste said, making me smile and blush a bit.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's start this party with a bang!" Zero Two yelled, picking up the rocket launcher. Before any of us could stop her, she fired it at the wall, which created an explosion that tore a large hole in the wall. Luckily, no one was hurt. As we got off of the APC, I took the launcher from Zero Two's hands.

"You're not allowed to shoot rocket launchers anymore," I said as I tossed it to the side. Zero Two just gave me a cheeky smile as we climbed over the rubble to the other side of the wall. When we got over, I saw in the distance that there was a rather large door at the base of the tower opening up. Inside, there were Taarkin's elite guard, but there were also some kind of nightmarish monsters roaring and snarling beside of them.

"What in the hell are those things?" I asked.

"Failed experiments. The original prototypes of the Ravagers," the Ravager Queen said as the rest of the Ravagers and the soldiers all climbed over the rubble and stood alongside of us. After the doors had fully opened, the Ravager prototypes and the elite guard ran at full speed over the vast open field towards us.

"Oh yeah, this seems pretty easy," Amki said.

"Odango, how many enemies are there?" I asked. Odango's eyes turned cyan as she scanned the horde coming toward us.

"Uh, well, you were right about one thing. There are more of us than them. The only problem is that there are about 1000-1500 of those things heading toward us," she said, a bit worried.

"How many are under mind control?"

"None."

"Good," I replied, walking out a ways and taking out the BFG. I kneeled close to the ground and pointed the BFG at the oncoming horde. When they got to a good distance, I pointed the BFG slightly up and then fired. The shot looked like it would just zoom over the enemy's head.

"Uh, you aimed that a bit too high," Amki said.

"Just watch," I replied. Sure enough, as Taarkin's elite guard ran towards us and the first enemy came within range of the green orb, it fired a bolt that vaporized the enemy instantly. As the green orb sped towards Taarkin's tower, it destroyed every enemy left and right, turning them to nothing but bones and chunks of flesh. Some of the elite guard tried to turn back and flee, but the orb was just too fast for them and it kept going until it finally made impact with the tower and created a shockwave that vaporized even more enemies. The way ahead of us was now a bit more clear and there were a way fewer enemies than when the siege started.

"That did it! The number of the elite guard has dropped straight to 546!" Odango said, happily.

"Now, men! TO ARMS!" Celeste said, holding up one of her katanas. We all ran towards the remaining enemies, with some of the soldiers using sniper rifles to try and thin out the horde even more and we began fighting the rest of the elite guard as soon as we had reached them. Zero Two took out her dual pistols and began shooting enemies like crazy while Hiro and Odango also shot at more enemies from behind her. Amki began crushing some of the enemies' heads with either her bare hands or her flail, even throwing Celeste at a group so she could decapitate them. The Ravager Queen and her sisters used their tentacles to slice and tear through the elite guard, some of them biting into their flesh. Some of the Ravager prototypes sprouted wings to try and catch some of the soldiers off guard, but Eva used her concussion blasts to throw some of them off and Rhea conjured up a windstorm to blow some of the others away. As I shot at several more enemies with my shotgun, me, Zero Two, and Hiro ran towards the tower. However, the blast doors to the towers immediately slammed shut, keeping us from getting in and, to make matters worse, the door was sealed too tight for me to be able to open in forcibly.

"Dammit, no!" I said, trying to punch my way through the door.

"Do you see another way in?" Hiro asked as Zero Two continued to fire at the enemies behind us. The Ravager Queen fought her way through even more of the enemies before she was able to get to us.

"What seems to be the problem?" she asked.

"We have trouble," I said, trying again to force the door open.

"Ha. You call it 'trouble'. I call it 'sport'," the Ravager Queen said. Her tentacles coiled around me, Hiro, and Zero Two before she jumped into the air and latched onto the side of the tower and began climbing up. Some of the Ravager prototypes saw us going up and climbed after us, only for them to either get shot down by me, Hiro, and Zero Two or torn apart by the other Ravagers climbing the building. When we finally got close to the top floor, the Queen broke open the window and took us inside.

"Well, that's quite a way to get up a building," Zero Two said.

"Hey, Max, you there?" Odango said over my comms.

"Yeah, go ahead," I said.

"I've got a fix on General Taarkin's location. It seems like he's holed up on the 40th floor."

"What about Nikki?"

"She unconscious, but she's alive."

"Good. Only problem is that we're on the 35th floor. Is there an elevator somewhere?"

"It should be down the hall, second corridor on the left and the end of that hallway. Apparently, that's Taarkin's personal elevator."

"That sounds simple," Zero Two replied.

"Yeah, that's just the thing. If it usually sounds simple, it technically isn't," Hiro said. As if on cue, we heard footsteps coming from down the hallway. We turned and saw three of Taarkin's elite guard, except their armor was a bit different and each of them had different weapons. The one on the left had sleek, jet black armor and was wielding a high-tech bo staff with electricity coming out of the sides. The one on the right had normal looking armor which was orange and was holding a high grade combat shotgun of some kind and grenades on his belt. And the one in the middle had bulky, tan armor, was holding a sword in one hand, and had a shoulder cannon on his left shoulder.

"Oh boy, here we go," I said. The sleek soldier immediately leapt into action and attacked Zero Two, pinning her to the ground. Zero Two was able to get him off and the other two elite soldiers began to attack me, Hiro, and the Ravager Queen as she fought the sleek soldier. The bulky soldier fired some kind of grenade at me, which I grabbed and threw back at the soldiers, only for it to do absolutely nothing against them. I ran toward the bulky soldier and began to fight him while the shotgun soldier shot at Hiro and the Ravager Queen. The bulky soldier swung his sword at me and came close to nearly chopping my head off, but I was able to disarm him and tear the arm cannon off of his shoulder. Quick thinking, I attached the cannon to my own shoulder as the bulky soldier got back up and grabbed his sword. But before he could take another swing at me, the arm cannon shot a burst of ice, which instantly froze the soldier. I immediately followed it up with a punch which instantly caused the soldier's body to shatter into pieces. Hiro and the Ravager Queen were stuck dealing with the shotgun soldier, who pulled out a device that emitted a sound that highly irritated the Ravager Queen, leaving Hiro defenseless as he tried to hit the soldier. Zero Two, on the other hand, was struggling to try and land a hit on the sleek soldier, only for him to counter each of her attacks and pin her back to the ground. Unfortunately for the soldier, she was within arm's reach of an exposed cable, which she grabbed and stuck it into the sleek soldier's face and electrocuted him until he dropped the bo staff. Zero Two used her foot to pick up the staff and she began to strike him down with the staff until I came in from behind and stabbed him through the head with my arm blade. All that was left was the soldier with the combat shotgun giving Hiro a hard time, destroying the rifle he had with one of his shots. But Zero Two attacked him from behind and continued to use the bo staff to repeatedly strike the soldier, knock the shotgun out of his hands and destroy the device that he was using to disrupt the Queen, leaving him to rely on his military training. But when he did finally punch her off, Zero Two held up a ring of some sort, which made the soldier panic as he started frantically checking his belt. Zero Two had pulled one of the pins from one of his grenades. The soldier failed to find the grenade in time before an explosion went off, killing him instantly. My helmet reformed over my head and the Queen used her tentacles to block out the searing heat of the explosion. After the flames died down, Zero Two cheekily walked out and flashed me a smile.

"As I said before: we live for danger," she said.

"That was reckless. Did you even think before you pulled that pin?" I asked.

"It was either that or we all die. So, yes, I did think."

"OK, I admire your enthusiasm. But you need to think more clearly. It'll help you a whole lot more if you do."

"You're the boss. Oh, and Darling?"

"What?" Hiro asked. Zero Two picked up the combat shotgun with her foot and threw it at him.

"Present for you," Zero Two said. Hiro just held up the gun and carefully examined it. Unfortunately, he wasn't careful enough as he accidently fired some kind of grenade which flew past us and hit a bunch of elite soldiers that had just gotten around the corner to attack us. The grenade exploded and left nothing but blood and chunks of flesh at the end of the hallway for us.

"Sorry, I had no idea that that's what that did!" Hiro said, pointing the gun downward.

"Max, are you there?" Celeste said.

"I'm here. Just took out more of Taarkin's elites with Zero Two and Hiro's help," I said.

"Well, do you mind if I borrow them? We need their help down here."

"Why? We can help him up here!" Zero Two insisted.

"Because if Taarkin sees me with you two, he'll kill Nikki. I know you want to help, but we need to anticipate that Taarkin wants me to come alone," I said.

"I'll take them back to your friends and join you shortly," the Ravager Queen said. But before I started to head down the hallway, Zero Two gave me a hug.

"Be careful," she said. I just smiled before she and Hiro were grabbed by the Queen and carried down the tower. I then ran down the hallway, killing more of the elite guard as I ran toward the elevator. When I finally got to the elevator, I took it straight up to the 40th floor. When the doors opened, strangely, there was not a single enemy in sight down the hallway. But I cautiously made my way down the hallway until I finally stepped into the main control room, which was completely dark.

"I must say, I'm surprised that you made it this far," Taarkin said, stepping into view wearing his helmet. I immediately pointed my shotgun at him, but he didn't move nor did he have any weapon on him.

"Where is she?" I asked. Taarkin snapped his fingers and a bunch of lights turned on to reveal Nikki, who was unconscious and strapped to a metal ring. She didn't seem to have any visible wounds on her body.

"She's much stronger than I thought. I see why you love her so much," Taarkin said, trying to taunt me.

"If you're trying to bait me into getting angry and doing something stupid, it's not going to work."

"No, of course you wouldn't want to get angry. You feel it, don't you?"

"Feel what?"

"That seething hatred. That burning anger trying to claw its way out of you. The hate that you wish to use to tear me apart."

"You slaughter innocent people for fun. You enslave those who won't bow to you. Of course, I'm angry. But things will be a hell of a lot worse if you so much as THINK about killing or even HURTING her," I said, my anger growing a bit. Taarkin snapped his fingers again and two soldiers rushed at me from the sides, pointing their guns at me. I just simply grabbed the rifles and crushed them before shooting one with my shotgun and stabbing the other with my arm blade. Taarkin didn't look the least bit fazed.

"I never intended to kill her, human. Once you have been drained of the Infernite energy, I will make her a part of my very own elite guard. I'd wager she would make a great soldier," he said. My rage started to build again and I took a few steps toward him.

"What, working for the Overlord wasn't enough for you, so you go against what he ordered you to do?"

"FORGET THE OVERLORD! I, General Taarkin, shall personally wage war on the Overlord and hunt him down like the dog that he is and make him pay for belittling me! But not before I have killed you!"

"Like you actually could. We both know that you won't get your own hands dirty," I said. But, Taarkin's enraged face grew into a wicked smile.

"Of course, you are right. I intend to use the girl as my executioner. After I have drained you of the energy, I will make her split your skull and let her watch long enough before she becomes the leader of the greatest military might in the entire universe," Taarkin said. I became even more enraged that it felt like the demon inside was about to burst out and rip open Taarkin's throat.

"If you so much as touch her, you're dead!" I said as I stood in the middle of the room. But, Taarkin's only response was to pull out a remote and press a button which caused a ring to glow underneath me and four electric pylons to sprout up all around me. Before I could do anything, the pylons shot electricity at me, which made me drop my shotgun and crumple to my knees. The electricity was extremely painful and felt like it would scorch my heart. While I was gritting my teeth, trying to bear the pain, Taarkin was watching in satisfaction.

"Even if you do escape, you cannot stop what will come next. There will be no more resistance. No more of the Overlord! There will only be… the reign of TAARKIN!" he yelled in sadistic glee. This guy had gone completely crazy and now he was hell-bent on taking over the entire universe even with the threat of angering of the Overlord. But as the pylons continued to electrocute me, it didn't feel like I was being drained of the energy. It felt like it was building power with every second and it was patiently preparing for whatever came next. As if to confirm this to Taarkin, a blinking red light started flashing on one of the consoles, which alerted him and one of the scientists.

"What is going on?!" Taarkin asked.

"This… this is impossible. The energy readings are growing stronger! They're… building!" the scientist said in awe. As Taarkin rushed over to the console, I began to get back onto my feet as my skin started to turn pale and my blood vessels started to glow with electricity.

"You said that this machine would work!"

"It should! But these readings have exceeded our expectations!"

"RESTRAIN HIM!" Taarkin yelled to two of his elite guard. But it was already too late. The monster inside of me had already taken over and he was ready to destroy everything in sight. As the two soldiers rushed over, I grabbed both of their heads and crushed them, splattering blood onto the floor. After the electricity had built up enough, the pylons to the machine began to break apart until the entire machine finally blew up. When the smoke cleared, both Taarkin and the scientist stared at me in horror.

"I must thank you," Taarkin said, grabbing the scientist's arm.

"For what?" the scientist asked.

"For your courageous sacrifice," Taarkin replied, throwing the scientist at me, who screamed in horror. I just simply sliced him in half with my arm blade and advanced towards Taarkin. He grabbed a knife and threateningly pointed it at Nikki.

"Do not come any closer! I swear I will rip her throat open!" he said. But I didn't listen, still making my way towards him. Just as he prepared to stab her, I fired an ice blast from my arm cannon which froze his arm in place. When I finally got up to him, I shattered his arm with my bare hand. Taarkin could do nothing but yell in anguish and try to attack me. But I just beat him to the ground and tore off one of his legs before then throwing him against the window, knocking his helmet off of his head. As the blood flowed out of his wounds, I angrily pointed my shotgun at him. But Taarkin's look of horror turned into a look of contentment.

"GO ON! DO IT! KILL ME!" he said, grinning a bloody grin. Part of my brain told me that I should. I would be doing all those he wronged a favor by killing him. But… it also felt like that's actually what he wanted. Like he would die at the hands of an actual warrior rather than a slave or someone else. With a deep breath of anger, I withdrew my shotgun and holstered it.

"I'm not going to kill you. You don't deserve death from my hands," I said in a demonic voice. I turned away from Taarkin and used my immense strength to break Nikki free of her restraints. With my anger quelled, I reverted back to my normal self and held Nikki in my arms. As I turned to leave, however, Taarkin angrily spat blood at me.

"Damn human! I deserve death by a warrior's hand! YOU DESERVE TO KILL ME! YOU WOULD RATHER LEAVE ME TO DIE BY THE OVERLORD'S HANDS?!" he yelled as he sat up against the window.

"Who said that the Overlord was going to be the one to kill you?" I said. After those words left my mouth, the sound of chittering and snarling filled the entire room. Taarkin only looked up in horror as the metal walls were torn open and the Ravager Queen and her sisters descended into the room.

"No! NO! You cannot leave me here with these beasts! Have mercy!" Taarkin said. I just turned and walked toward the exit, picking up Taarkin's helmet, only to stop just behind the Queen's ears.

"Do what you will with him," I said. Taarkin immediately grabbed a pistol and tried to shoot the glass, but it barely left a scratch on the glass. When he turned the pistol on himself, one of the Ravagers crushed both the pistol and Taarkin's hand with her tentacles. As I headed out the door and as it was shutting behind me, the Queen let out a terrifying roar and bared her teeth at him. After I had gotten to the elevator and the door shut, all that I could hear was one final death scream from Taarkin. On the ride down, I looked at Nikki, who was still unconscious, but alive. I just gave a smile knowing that she was going to be alright. When the two of us finally got to the bottom and the doors opened, I saw the last of Taarkin's elite guard still fighting Celeste and the others. But when they heard the doors open and they turned to face me, they immediately turned their weapons to me. After a few seconds of silence, I held up Taarkin's mask to show to everyone with a determined look on my face. Taarkin's elite guard just stared at me for a few seconds before they dropped their weapons in fear. As the soldiers rounded up the elite guard, one soldier in the crowd could no longer contain his joy.

"VICTORY! WE HAVE VICTORY!" he yelled, causing the rest of the crowd to break out into an uproar of happiness. After several minutes, we were able to reduce Taarkin's tower to rubble and the rest of the people in the city began to cheer, happy to finally be free of Taarkin's madness. After saying our goodbyes to the Stellanites, we sped back to Zandor to return the Ravagers to their home. Some of the soldiers from Stellan made the long trip with us to try and help the Zandorians rebuild their village. In the cargo bay, Paki ran up to me and hugged me tightly, happy to finally be free. The Ravager Queen then came over to me as she looked out into the village.

"I have a question for you. Why did you let my kind kill Taarkin instead of you?" she asked.

"Because it was your war to finish. I didn't want to deny you of your vengeance," I said, standing up. The Ravager Queen gave me a slight smile.

"My kind and I will be forever in your debt. Should you ever need our help again, we would be happy to help you."

"Thanks," I said, smiling back. But as I turned to head back to the med bay, the Queen stopped me.

"There is something you should know. The girl… Rhea. She has a good heart. But, there is something about her that seems… off. I would strongly advise you to be cautious around her," she said.

"I'll be careful," I said. The Queen then led Paki out of the ship and we sped off into the void. Back in the med bay, Nikki slowly woke up before turning to face me.

"Hi," she said with a smile.

"Hi," I said back.

"Taarkin. Is he…?"

"Yeah, he's gone for good. How do you feel?"

"Like I got electrocuted several times and nearly died. But, other than that, I should be fine," Nikki said as she sat up, wincing from the pain. I pulled her armor disc out of my pocket and gave it back to her.

"Sorry I didn't show up sooner," I said. Nikki just smiled and kissed me.

"Aw, that's sweet," Zero Two said from behind us, causing us to break away from the kiss. Standing in the doorway with Zero Two were Hiro and Celeste, who were both smiling.

"I'm glad to see that you're alright, Nikki. You gave us quite a fright," Celeste said, giving her a hug.

"So, what do we do now?" I asked.

"Until we can be certain that the Overlord isn't following us anymore, we should lay low for a while."

"I guess that I'll take a well-deserved nap then. My muscles feel a bit tense," Nikki said.

"So, then, where does that leave us?" Hiro asked. I stood up and put my hand on his shoulder with a smile.

"We'll do everything in our power to try and get you home, if we can," I said. Both Zero Two and Hiro smiled.

"Well, we're in no rush. In fact, do you think you can help train me to use this thing?" Zero Two said, holding up the bo staff she obtained earlier. I just nodded.

**3****rd**** person perspective, Stellan**

Walking amongst the rubble of what was once Taarkin's empire, the Overlord, along with the rest of his crusaders, looked over the damage until he located the corpse of Taarkin himself.

"Such a shame and a waste of potential," the Overlord said.

"Well, he was an idiot," Philip said.

"So, what do we do now, my lord? We have lost track of them and absolutely no way of tracking them," Yoon asked. The Overlord looked back at the his crusaders and the city in silence.

"Fret not, Yoon. I have a way of finding them. A way that even they do not even know of," the Overlord said, his eyes glowing red.

**To Be Continued…**


	8. Chapter 8: Far From Home

HuniePop Space Adventures

Chapter 8: Far From Home

The softness of my bed was like pure heaven to me. Then again, it had been so long since I had slept. And it was always the best when I was with my boyfriend, Max. However, as I gently stirred awake and I opened my eyes, something seemed completely different. Like there was a dash of pink in front of me. I picked my glasses up off of the table next to the bed and put them on. Sure enough, laying in the bed was Zero Two, who had her hand on her head and a smile on her face. The sight of her in bed with me made me jump and yelp in fear and confusion, which made Max turn and put an arm over Zero Two.

"What is it, Honey?" he said. But he suddenly started feeling on Zero Two's arm before he fully woke up. Zero Two turned to him and gave a smug look, which made him stumble back in surprise and accidently hit his head on the table behind him. Zero Two simply laughed at the scene that had just unfolded before us.

"Oh, my gosh. You two are so funny!" she said.

"What the hell is wrong with you? What are you doing in our bed?" I asked. Zero Two just stood up and hopped off of the bed, adjusting her hair a bit.

"I just wanted to see how a couple wakes up first thing in the morning."

"You couldn't have sat in the chair? Or, I don't know, ASKED ME?" I said. Zero Two just smiled at me.

"You two are fun," she replied before exiting the room. Neither me or Max said anything to that, although Max did let out a small "ow" before he got back up. After we had gotten dressed, we headed to the mess hall, where the rest of the team was eating breakfast. We got our food and sat down beside Zero Two who started pouring some kind of blue syrup all over her breakfast. And I don't mean she drizzled a bit on top, I mean she straight up DROWNED her breakfast in syrup. After almost ten seconds of her pouring, Amki finally spoke up.

"Oh, please, by all means! We're not gonna have any!" she said sarcastically. Zero Two stopped pouring and handed to bottle to her.

"Want some?" she asked.

"No thanks," Amki said. Zero Two just shrugged and put the bottle down before she picked up a piece of meat with her bare hand and she stuffed her face full of it, the syrup dripping down her chin. After she had eaten it, she started to LICK HER HAND to get rid of the excess syrup.

"There is SILVERWARE and a NAPKIN right in front of you, Zero Two!" I said. Zero Two just ignored me and picked up the syrup bottle.

"This stuff is really sweet. What exactly is it?" she asked. As she prepared to pour more syrup onto her meal, Celeste swiped it out of her hand.

"This is bloonberry syrup. It's a delicacy to many different species on several different planets. And I would prefer it if you didn't waste it," she said.

"Yeah, Zero Two has a massive sweet tooth," Hiro said, sitting next to Zero Two.

"In either case, it's common manners to use silverware to pick up your food and to use a napkin to wipe your hands."

"So, how have things been going with everyone?" Max asked.

"Well, in the last five days, we've been able to fall beneath the Overlord's radar and both Hiro and Zero Two have excelled in their training, as well as their understanding of this dimension's Earth. Right now, we are on our way to Space District 46 for refueling and restocking our inventory. There are also several different stores in case if there's anything that anyone needs to keep themselves entertained during our voyage out here. You'll each be given 1000 credits to help accommodate for expenses," Celeste explained. As she was saying this, Zero Two continued to eat her food with just her hands.

"Zero Two, can you please eat with the fork?" Hiro asked.

"Jeez, I wonder how she even eats ice cream," I said, under my breath. Zero Two immediately stopped eating and came over to me, getting uncomfortably close to my face.

"What's ice cream?" she asked.

"You know, it's… Wait, you don't have ice cream on your Earth?!"

"I've never even heard of it. What is it?"

"Oh my God, it's like SO good! It's this frozen treat made from milk that is usually a snack or a dessert, and it comes in SO many different flavors!"

"What kinds of flavors?"

"Let's see… There's chocolate, strawberry, mint chocolate chip, cookie dough…" I said. As I said each of the flavors I could think of, Zero Two's mouth began to drool in anticipation.

"Zero Two, please stop your drooling," Celeste said.

"I'm sorry, but just hearing about this special kind of treat is so enticing! Darling, we should try it!" Zero Two said.

"OK, slow down. I mean, we aren't going to stay here long. Well, we could stop by Earth and try it before we leave. Speaking of which, how are things going with finding a way home for us?" Hiro asked. The entire room fell silent and everyone seemed… guilty and upset. After a moment of silence, Celeste finally spoke up.

"Hiro, there's no easy way to say this and I'm sorry that I have to say it: We've run several different scenarios to try and find a way to breach the dimensional barrier again, but they've all come up negative," she said. Hiro looked a bit distraught.

"Well, what about recreating the explosion that brought us here in the first place?" he asked.

"That's both reckless and too risky. We don't have enough explosions to recreate the blast and we don't know how powerful the blast was. And even if we did, there could be high chance that you both could die in the explosion if something goes wrong," Max said.

"Plus, even if we could breach the barrier, we wouldn't know if you would actually get home or end up in another dimension. It just raises too many questions," Eva said. Hiro hung his head in his hands and sighed.

"So, what you're saying is that were staying is that we're stuck here even though you said you'd get us home?" he said.

"I said that we would do everything in our power to TRY and get you home, if we COULD. I didn't say that it would be that simple or that there was a guaranteed way," Max said.

"Yes, and neither human nor any known alien species is capable of multiverse travel. Granted, we still have a number of other ways to try, but at this point, I don't see any possible way to get you back to your home dimension," Celeste said.

"Well, it's not the worst thing in the world," Zero Two said, continuing to eat her breakfast.

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" Hiro asked. Zero Two just shrugged.

"They said they would help us and they are. If we can't get back to our home dimension, then that's that."

"That isn't the point, Zero Two. We have a home we have to-"

"So, what other kinds of desserts do you have on your Earth?" Zero Two asked me.

"You don't just change the subject like that! That's rude!" I said.

"Also, can we stop calling her Zero Two? I mean, what the hell does that even mean? Is it like a code name or something?" Amki asked.

"It's the name she was given and that's not really what-" Hiro started to say.

"I actually agree with Amki. Zero Two is a good code name in the field, but she needs a proper name," Max interrupted.

"How about Zoe? It's a popular girls' name on Earth and… I'm encouraging this, aren't I?" Odango said.

"Actually, I was the one who started it, so that's on me," Max said apologetically.

"Can we please focus on the matter at hand?!" Hiro insisted.

"Zoe… I like it!" Zero Two said, completely ignoring him.

"I mean, yeah, it is a good name, but I really don't think we should be starting something inappropriate," I said.

"No, it's fine! I mean, I still like my regular name, but 'Zoe' has this ring to it. Darling, what do you think?" Zero Two asked. Hiro's only response was to angrily slam his fist on the table, which made the room fall into silence again.

"Can I speak to you? In private?" Hiro asked gruffly before getting up from the table and storming off. Zero Two took a look back at the rest of us before she got up and followed him, leaving the rest of us still speechless.

"Well, he's pissed," Amki finally said.

"YA THINK?" the rest of us said.

**Hiro's perspective**

I opened the door to our room and went in, trying to calm myself down and keep my composure as Zero Two entered the room after me.

"So, what did you want to talk about, Darling?" she asked. I just stood in silence for a few seconds and sighed deeply.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked.

"Why am I doing what?"

"Acting like we belong here."

"I'm not acting like we belong here. I'm just trying to make conversation and be friendly."

"Look, I know that you mean well, but… we don't belong here," I said, looking back at her.

"Well, if they can't get us home, we might as well belong here, Darling. Don't look at this like it's a bad thing. We're alive and they were kind enough to help us out. Plus, we're far stronger than we've ever been before!" she said.

"And I'm grateful for that. But, if there's even a chance that we can go home, we need to-"

"Ugh, spit it out, Darling! Why do you want to go back to our Earth so badly?"

"How come you don't?!"

"I never said that. But you heard what they said. There's a very slim chance that we even CAN go home. If we can't, we need to make do with it."

"OK, yes! They said there was a slim chance, but it's still a chance! Whatever risks that there are, we should take it!" I said. Zero Two gave me a stern look.

"You would wager our own lives just to do so?" she asked.

"If it means that we can see our friends again, then maybe! I mean, I wouldn't wager our lives but if we have a chance, then we should seize the opportunity!"

"Darling, let me make something clear to you. We're alive. And I'm not going to wager our lives if we have only a slim chance of survival. You need to stop obsessing about it, OK?" Zero Two said, before she turned to leave.

"How could you be so selfish?" I asked. Zero Two immediately stopped and turned back to me with a look of anger.

"I'm being selfish? I'M BEING SELFISH?!" she yelled at me.

"Yes, you are! Our friends are probably worried sick about us! If we do this, then we can be with them again. Live our lives with them!"

"Darling, they most likely think that we're dead. If we risk our lives like this, that will become a reality! And I don't wanna take that chance! Why do you?!"

"Because we made a promise to them. We promised the Squad that we would come back! Ichigo gave us orders to come back alive! Do you remember none of that?!"

"Yes, I do. But, with all due respect Darling, that wasn't a promise we could keep. And even if it did work, the others said that there's no way of telling if we'll actually end up on our Earth or a completely different one. And what do we do then? Risk our lives again until we DO end up on our Earth?"

"If we have to!"

"Darling, its sounds to me like YOU'RE the one who's being selfish! Max, Nikki, Celeste, the rest of this team, they found us when nobody knew that we were out here! And if they say that there's no possible way for us to get home, then we shouldn't risk our lives!"

"And you BELIEVE them?" I said. Zero Two gave me another angry look.

"Oh, that's rich!" she said sarcastically.

"What?"

"Do you think they're holding us here against our will?! I'm the one making the decisions for myself. And you're letting yourself make decisions that are dangerous and stupid! If we have to live on the Earth in this dimension, then so be it!"

"That's exactly the point! We would be living on an Earth where nobody knows us and we would have no idea where to go! Is that what you want?"

"Frankly, I would actually prefer to live on an Earth that's still full of life as compared to HELL that we left behind! And if you can't accept that, then what the hell makes you think I would go along with anything you think?!"

"WELL, THEN MAYBE I'D BE BETTER OFF WITHOUT YOU!" I yelled in rage. But my anger quickly subsided when I realized what I had just said. Zero Two just stood in front of me in silence, tears running down her face. After a while, she turned away from me and headed for the door.

"Zero Two…" I started to say, reaching for her arm. But she suddenly gave me a backhand slap across the face with the tears running down her face.

"DON'T! EVEN!" she yelled before she turned back and walked out the door. The tears began to run down my face as I held my face in pain and frustration.

"I didn't mean that…" I said quietly.

**Max's perspective**

After a few minutes of space travel, we had finally reached Space District 46. When the bay doors opened, me and Nikki saw that Celeste wasn't kidding about it being a popular spot. It was like a giant shopping mall with many different alien species walking throughout the district and either socializing or browsing the shops for anything they would've wanted. And the air smelled so clear that the scent of different foods was carried all throughout the district. Nikki deeply inhaled the scent and breathed out in relief.

"Oh man, whatever they're cooking out there, it smells really good," she said. I admit, it was really nice to finally be somewhere that was very peaceful as opposed to the usually chaotic settings we had before. Plus, we weren't being relentlessly pursued by the Overlord or any of his crusaders. Before I could say anything, Zero Two ambushed Nikki from behind with a hug and a smile.

"Sooooo, what are we doing first?" she asked.

"Well, we were thinking of walking around and checking out any bookstores we can find. Then we could see if there are any sweet shops and then we could just go from there," Nikki said.

"Yeah, but Celeste said we need more food and supplies, so we need to stop by the food market and appliance store too," I replied.

"How about we all go together?" Nikki asked. However, when Hiro came up from behind us and stood to the left of me, Zero Two gave him an angry look and Hiro looked extremely guilty.

"Actually, I think that we should have some 'girl time', just you and me. Come on, Nikki!" Zero Two said with a smile before she tugged on Nikki's arm and they headed toward the shops, leaving me and Hiro to stand there. After a while, we too went towards the shops to try and find supplies. As we made our way through the crowd, though, Hiro didn't speak a word to me. After almost 5 minutes of complete silence from him, I finally spoke up.

"Is something happening between you two?" I asked.

"How could you tell?" he replied.

"Dude, she gave you an angry look. Don't act like I couldn't tell."

"It's just… we're going through some things."

"I don't buy that. She seemed really pissed at you," I said. Hiro just sighed and sat at the top of some stairs, staring out at the crowds of people passing by and I sat down beside him.

"We just got into this argument about whether we should head back or not. It just spiraled out of control and then…" Hiro said.

"And then what?"

"I… told her that I would be better off without her."

"You didn't mean that, did you?" I asked. Hiro just stared out sadly at an alien couple showing affection to one another.

"I didn't mean to…"

"Did you at least apologize to her?"

"She didn't want to hear it."

"Well, then you need to make an effort to do so later. Let her know that you didn't mean to say it and that you're sorry."

"Look, why do you care?! She actually wants to stay here because you said that we might not have a way home! You promised us that you would help us find a way back to our Earth!" Hiro said angrily. I just let out a small sigh in sadness.

"I never promised you that. I said that we would TRY to find a way for you to get home. If I promised you that, it would become a promise that I wouldn't be able to keep," I said. Hiro's expression softened and he hung his head in despair.

"I think that it's just pointless now. She'll probably never want to talk to me again," he said.

"That doesn't matter. You still need to apologize to her, even if she doesn't want to hear it. You'll feel a whole lot better with yourself."

"And then what? We just forget about our Earth? Our friends?"

"I'm not asking you to forget. I'm asking you to move on. Can you do that?"

"I guess that I could," Hiro said. I smiled and stood up.

"Let's see if we kind find some food and supplies. We can talk more on the way," I said. Hiro smiled and also got up as we made our way further into the district.

**Nikki's perspective**

The halls of the bookstore me and Zero Two were in were rather quiet as I was searching the shelves for anything of interest. Videogames were usually more of my hobby, but I did usually read once in a while. Zero Two was quietly sitting at a table and reading one of the books she had picked out, which was called "The Adventures of Jenny Jupiter". It was a popular light novel and manga series back on Earth that was about a woman who had to fight off space monsters while hooking up with this guy she met and fell in love with. The series was often well advertised and sold a lot of copies and I even heard that it might get an anime series at some point. After I had picked out a few books that I found to be interesting, I sat down beside Zero Two, who had her head buried deep in that book.

"This Jenny Jupiter character is very intriguing," she said.

"Well, I wouldn't know. I haven't read the series that much," I replied.

"She's just so adventurous and carefree and brave. Like… me, I guess. Makes me wonder if the guy who wrote this was actually writing about me," Zero Two said. Both of us laughed at that remark, only for it to fall silent between us again for a while.

"Soooo, uh, are we gonna talk?"

"I thought we were talking."

"No, not about that. About you and Hiro," I said. Zero Two just gave me an upset look before she turned back to the book.

"There's nothing to talk about."

"Are you sure? It looked like you were really angry at him."

"He just wishes to risk his life in order to get back to our Earth and I told him that I wasn't onboard with that idea."

"Is that it? It seems like you're mad about more than just that."

"Look, Hiro wishes to risk his life in order to get back home and he said that he would be better off without me. So be it!"

"And you're just OK with that?!" I asked. Zero Two looked up from her book and gave me a sad look.

"If he wants to go back even if it kills him, I won't stop him. It's what he wants," she said.

"And I respect that, but sometimes what someone wants isn't always the right thing. I mean, you're both a couple, right? You shouldn't want him to risk his life, you should be asking him to rethink it!"

"That's just the thing. What if I end up pushing him even further away if I DO talk to him? If he feels like he would be better off without me, then I'm afraid that talking to him would make it worse."

"Well, did he look like he regretted saying that?"

"A little…"

"Then there you go! If it looked like he felt hurt after saying that, then he still loves you!"

"Look, no offense, but what exactly would you know about love?"

"A lot more than I ever thought that I would."

"Oh?"

"When I was younger, I shut myself out from people. I thought that being alone would be the best way for me to find happiness. But it wasn't. I felt so… empty and lost. But when Max came along, he showed me that being lonely wasn't the answer. He was so sweet and kind and was always willing to talk to me if I ever needed to. Whenever I was around him, I felt like a whole different person. A better person. One who could open up to others and be more friendly. But we both knew that it came with a condition: We would have to accept each other's faults, no matter what they were. There would be times that we would get angry at one another and we felt that being away from each other would be the best thing to do. But I knew that if I let him go, I'd be throwing a piece of myself away that I could never get back. But, we always found a way back to each other. My point is… if you let Hiro go through with this, you're gonna feel so horrible with yourself that you won't know how to move on! So let him know that you don't want him to do this to himself!" I said. Zero Two just lowered her head in silence before looking back to me.

"Are you sure that'll work?" she asked.

"Honesty. That's what got me and Max through the rough patches."

"Well, I guess that I could try."

"There's no try. There's only do or don't. If you love each other so much, you'll find your way back into each other's arms," I said. Zero Two suddenly got extremely close to my face and stared at me with her bright, cyan eyes. Before I could ask what was wrong, she licked my cheek. I winced and held my cheek in disbelief, but all she gave me was a smile.

"You taste sweet. I like that about you," Zero Two said before she sat back down and began reading her book.

"So, on an unrelated note, how's that book coming?"

"It's pretty good so far. Except for one thing: What exactly are these doing?" Zero Two asked, showing one of the illustrations in the book. But, when I saw it, I immediately yelped and covered my eyes. The illustration was of the main character, Jenny Jupiter, buck naked and getting… ahem… "bonked" by her boyfriend. I gently regained my composure and sat up, my face still bright red.

"They're… um… having sex," I said.

"What's that?"

"I'd… rather not say right now."

"I think I'm gonna buy this! Be right back!" Zero Two said as she sped off to the cashier. I tried to stop her, but she was too fast and I was left there, covering my face in embarrassment. After about 5 minutes, we had left the bookstore with way more than we originally wanted. Zero Two ended up buying 5 volumes of the Jenny Jupiter manga and 3 volumes of the light novel series as well as one other book I didn't see.

"WHY did you need to buy all of this? One or two would've kept us occupied for the rest of the trip," I said. Zero Two just shrugged.

"It's just so interesting. I might be done with one or two in a day."

"And what about that other book you bought?" I asked. Zero Two just reached into the bag and pulled the book out. On the cover of the book was the title, "The Beast and the Prince" and the picture of a woman with wings and horns.

"Is this a kids' book?" I said, taking the book from her and reading it a bit.

"You're not gonna believe this, but… that was actually a book from my Earth that I had as a child," Zero Two said, making my eyes widen.

"No kidding?"

"Yeah. It was one of my favorite possessions that I had when I was a test subject."

"Test subject?"

"It's a long story, but, I was created in order to operate a weapon that was only accessible by klaxosapiens. Because of my appearance, people saw me as a monster. And then, one day, this little boy came and tried to free me."

"Hiro…"

"He didn't look at me like a monster. But when we were trying to escape, we were caught and had our memories erased. Even after that, I still had fragments of my memories about Hiro wanting to be my Darling. When I met him again, he still didn't see me as a monster, even when the rest of his Squad didn't see me as human."

"Well, we're all human on the inside, aren't we?"

"I guess so… but, you and Max, Celeste and the others… you saw us as human firsts, not monsters or aliens. That makes you all great friends."

"I… guess it does," I replied, giving the book back to her. Zero Two placed the book back into her bag and then walked back in front of me.

"So, what's this thing called 'sex' you didn't want to talk about earlier?" she asked, making me blush.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"I'm not going to stop asking until you tell me."

"It's… a way of showing love and giving… pleasure to your partner. And it's… a way of making babies. It's complicated," I said.

"Hmmm, interesting. I think I might try it some other time with hi… OOOH, sweet shop!," Zero Two said, grabbing my hand and dragging me toward the shop.

**Max's perspective**

As me and Hiro were making our way back to the Centurion with the supplies we had bought, we both grabbed some drinks and sat down at a bench, looking out at the crowd.

"Wait, so you were chosen to fight what now?" Hiro asked me.

"The Nymphojinn. There like these supernatural beings that awaken every ten thousand years because they get all hot and bothered. It's a thing," I replied.

"And you beat them how?"

"With love and passion. But, enough talk about me. What about you?"

"Oh man, where do I start?"

"How about when you first met Zero Two?" I asked. Hiro just sighed and slouched a bit.

"She was a test subject that APE was trying to create in order to access a weapon that the klaxosaurs made. I was able to break her out, but we were both caught and our memories were erased. The second time I met her was when she was swimming in a lake. She was so beautiful with those two alluring horns of hers and…" he said.

"Wait, wait. Was she naked?"

"Uh… yeah, she was. But, I swear, I didn't mean to see her like that on purpose!"

"Whoa, dude, I didn't mean to ask it like that. Anyway, go on."

"My lifelong dream was to pilot a FRANXX. But, when I ingested Zero Two's blood as a child, it left me unable to. I figured that I would be just useless and I would never get the chance to be of use to my friends."

"But Zero Two was the only one who could actually pilot with you."

"She had this reputation as the 'Partner-Killer'. Every other partner she had always died after the third ride. I was the only one strong enough to pilot with her more than that. It felt like I was always free when I was with her."

"So why leave her at all?" I asked.

"It's not that I want to! I just… really want us to find a way home so we won't be a bother to you. But I guess that doesn't matter anymore," Hiro replied.

"Why is that?"

"I made a promise to her that we would talk out our problems and always be together. But I just broke that promise today. And I have to live with it."

"Look, no relationship is ever perfect. There are times when I got angry at Nikki and she got angry at me, but we always came back to each other no matter what. And you're still here with Zero Two. If you love each other that much, she'll forgive you and come back to you. You can never be apart from those you love," I said. Hiro sat back up, smiling at me.

"You know, you're probably, like, the first person who's ever helped me to understand my feelings. I feel like I might be able to talk to her again. If she'll let me, that is," he said.

"You're a good man. And frankly, Zero Two couldn't have asked for a better partner," I said. Without any warning, a loud explosion went off and the crowd began to shout in fear and confusion. Hiro and I left our bags on the bench and ran toward the source of the explosion, where a group of the district's police were circling the blast zone. The streets went completely quiet as the police pointed their guns towards the center of the blast zone until a rather familiar face leapt out of the smoke and viciously mauled one of the cops to death. It was Malicus, one of the Overlord's minions. He suddenly stood back up, the blood on his arms dripping to the floor, and attacked another officer. But as he was about to bring his claws down, I quickly grabbed his arm and punched him away.

"Who's that guy?" Hiro asked as I helped the officer up.

"Malicus. He's one of the Overlord's pawns," I replied. Malicus stumbled back to his feet and lunged at me again, relentlessly attacking both me and Hiro. I was able to counter each of his attacks, but Hiro was unable to keep up and was thrown to the side. Before Malicus could sink his claws into my face, I grabbed his hand and forced him to his knees, nearly crushing his hand.

"Foolish human… You think that you can hide from the Overlord's wrath?" he asked.

"Funny you should ask that. I intend to put an end to his rule and rescue the universe from this madness of his," I replied. But before I could punch him, something hit me from the side and knocked me away into one of the stands in the streets. As I was recovering, another figure walked out of the smoke and stood over me. It was Philip. Except his armor looked a bit banged up and he had a scar running down the left side of his face.

"Oooohhh, you look like you've seen better days," I said.

"Yeah, well, that's all thanks to you, pal. Lucky for you, the Overlord didn't say that I couldn't beat you up a bit before we bring you in!" Philip replied, putting his boot on my neck and beginning to strangle me. But Hiro came in from behind and hit him with the butt of the rifle from the dead cop and helped me back to my feet.

"Looks like you have quite the reputation with the Overlord," Hiro said as Philip and Malicus got into battle ready stances.

"You take Malicus. Philip's all mine," I said cracking my knuckles. Both me and Hiro ran towards the two of them, with me and Philip's fist slamming into each other and creating a shockwave that knocked everyone back.

**Zero Two's perspective**

I accidentally bumped into some of the people on the streets as I made my way back to the sweet shop where Nikki was. Just as she was finished with buying something, I came back in the door and stood in front of her, acting like I was standing there the whole time. I didn't do a very good job though because she could tell something was up.

"Where'd you go?" Nikki asked.

"What are you talking about? I've been here the whole time," I said.

"Really? 'Cause you sound like you're out of breath by running from somewhere other than here," she replied as we walked out the door.

"OK, you got me. I wanted to get Darling a gift, so I stepped out real quick to try and find something for him."

"Yeah? What'd you get him?"

"That's a secret I can't share yet."

Well, I got you something," Nikki said, taking out a jar of lollipops and giving it to me, which I took and immediately hugged.

"How'd you know?!" I asked, putting the jar in my bag.

"Hiro told me that you liked them. So, you gonna tell me what you got him?"

"Mmmmm, maybe some other time."

"What, just because I told what sex is, you're not gonna tell me what you bought him?" Nikki asked, making me laugh for a bit.

"Hey, thanks for coming out here with me. I'm glad that we got to know each other a bit."

"Don't mention it. I mean, shopping and talking to each other is what most human girls do on our Earth. I'm actually glad that we got to do this."

"If you don't mind me asking, what else is normal for humans on your Earth?" I asked.

"Where do I start? Going for a swim at the beach in summer. Enjoying the blooming flowers in spring. Admiring the wonderful colors of the leaves in autumn. Having a mug of hot cocoa on a cold day in winter. Looking up at the starry sky at night. There's a lot of things to do throughout the year," Nikki said, looking up. I looked up at the stars as well, taking in how beautiful it was.

"I'll bet that it's beautiful."

"Yeah. But it's always the best when you're with your friends or loved ones."

"Aw, how sweet… I despise sweet," a voice said behind us. Both of us turned around and saw two female aliens standing behind us. One was wearing a skin-tight suit and a face mask and holding a whip while the other had plants covering one of her arms.

"Friends of yours?" I asked.

"Hardly. They're Selene and Zekxsie, emissaries of the Overlord," Nikki replied.

"And who might you be?" Selene asked me. I just smirked and gave Nikki my bag.

"The one you didn't count on," I said, rushing toward the two and launching myself into a kick. Selene, however, dodged my kick and knocked me to the ground. I barely had time to get back up before she grabbed me by the neck and held me up.

"Not a bad attempt for a novice fighter. But I'm more experienced than you could possibly fathom."

"Who says I was trying to hit you?" I replied. Nikki then fired a plasma blast at Selene, making her release me, and Nikki threw my electrostaff at me. After I had deployed it, I began to fight Zekxsie, who had transformed her hands into plant-like blades. I used just a few days of training to my advantage and was able to knock Zekxsie to the ground, but she turned her hand into a bunch of vines and knocked me back to the ground. Nikki took her own shot at fighting her, but Selene wrapped her whip around Nikki's neck and pulled her back. As I leapt back onto my feet, Zekxsie grabbed me and threw me through a wall and straight into Darling, sending the two of us flying into a store. Darling rubbed his head before looking down at me.

"Hey, Darling! How are you?" I asked.

"Uh, pretty good. So, uh, are you still mad at me or-?" Darling started to say.

"Now's not a good time, Darling!" I said, leaping back onto my feet and running out the broken window. I nearly got stabbed by an arm blade from one of the attackers before Darling grabbed me and pulled me back before I did get stabbed, making us fall backwards. The attacker stood above us and stared with his hideously scarred face.

"So where did Max find you freaks?" he asked. I only gave him an angry look as he brought the blade down, but Max quickly grabbed his arm and plunged the blade into the ground.

"Don't call my friends freaks, Philip," he said before punching him away into one of the stands. As he got ready to charge back into the fight, I jumped in front of him and redeployed my staff.

"How about we switch opponents? I have a bone to pick with this guy anyway," I said. Philip climbed out of the wreckage and I engaged in another fight against him, dodging a punch from him and using my staff to hit him under the chin. Philip, in a fit of rage, constantly tried in vain to stab me, but he couldn't land a single hit on me until I jumped out of the way and he hit Malicus instead, who had snuck up behind me. After he staggered backwards, I hit Philip square against his face, causing one of his teeth to go flying. I then kicked Malicus in the forehead, which knocked him unconscious. As Philip stumbled to his feet, Darling fired a bunch of shots at him, which bounced off of his armor and knocked him back a bit.

"So… are you still mad at me?" Darling asked as Philip got back onto his feet.

"Still not a good time, Darling," I said as I rushed in and attacked Philip again.

**Nikki's perspective**

Selene's whip came within inches of my face before I managed to land a plasma blast on her face, slightly breaking her mask and knocking her to the ground. Before she could coil her whip around my neck, Max caught it and pulled her towards us before he punched her away. A bunch of vines suddenly came up and held Max's arms down before Zekxsie grabbed him by the face and threw him into one of the stands in the streets. She then turned her attention to me and we both began creating different melee weapons to try and match each other, only for the both of us to be evenly matched until we got into a lock.

"Look, you don't have to do this, OK?" I said, trying to talk her down.

"No hard feelings, Ms. Cerulean, but I've got a job to do and a position to uphold, so how about you just give us what we want?" Zekxsie said as she nearly got me to the ground.

"I mean, I would. But I don't think he wants to give it to you," I said. Max suddenly fired his grappling hook at Zekxsie and yanked her backwards into a fire. Zekxsie yelled in pain for a bit before she fell to the ground, unconscious.

"That was your comeback line?" Max asked as he walked up to me.

"I couldn't think of anything clever. Sorry," I replied. I noticed that Philip was still getting roughed up by Zero Two and Hiro, but he was starting to get the upper hand again as he was starting to counter Zero Two's attacks.

"Seems like they need some help. Got anything special whipped up for him?"

"I actually do. I've always wanted to try this!" I replied. I created more armored leggings for my suit and got into a running stance, building power. After I had built up enough power, I took off at high speed and ran throughout the entire district before I came back to Philip and started to rapidly bludgeon him with my mace, each time from a different direction in order to try and confuse him. Sure enough, Philip was unable to counter any of my attacks and all he could do was simply cover his head in order to block out my attacks. Just when he thought that he could land an attack on me, I dodged out of the way and Zero Two landed another kick to his face, which put him down for the count. Just as Selene was getting back up, Celeste and the rest of the group ran up to us with more cops surrounding the three other emissaries. Max cautiously walked up to Selene, who's face mask fell to the ground with a clank and stared at him with her burning pink eyes.

"Don't you realize that it's pointless to keep running? The Overlord will get what he wants eventually, whether you like it or not. You can't hide forever," she said, baring her teeth.

"Who says that I'm running or hiding? I'm willing to put up a fight until the end if I have to. But if the Overlord wants his precious energy, you tell him to come get it himself," Max replied.

"You don't understand what that energy means for the universe. All the Overlord wishes to do is to cleanse the universe of all that is bad! He has no intention of destroying it!"

"Is that what YOU believe? Or is that what he's TELLING you?"

"You don't understand what the Overlord has done for me and my brother. We're all like a family to him!"

"I don't buy that. Your brother's the only family you had. Yoon only wants power for his own use, Zekxsie shuts herself out from others, and Taarkin was a power hungry general who wanted everyone to bow before him. And don't get me started with Philip."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you think that he actually loves you? The guy thinks that the whole world revolves around him and that everyone is beneath him. Even those he trusts. Trust me, he'll turn on you and when he does, you'll understand that what you were working for was a lie."

"When that day comes, human, I'll be sure to thank you for helping me understand. Until then, farewell," Selene said, picking up her mask and pulling out a device. She pressed a button on the device and four beams of light surrounded her and the other three emissaries while putting her mask back on. Philip had just woken up and lunged at Max, yelling, but he was sucked up along with the rest and the beams just disappeared, leaving us to look up in shock.

"Oh, COME ON! I really wanted to punch someone today!" Amki said in frustration.

"Do you really think that every problem can be solved by brute strength?" I asked.

"Well, at least our shopping items are OK!" Zero Two said, picking up her bag.

"And the food and supplies!" Odango said, holding up the bags Max and Hiro had.

"Uh, quick question. Do we need to pay off the damages for everything?" I asked. Sure enough, everything around us was completely trashed, from windows to the simple stands that were in the streets.

"There's no need. I'll handle it," Rhea said before she walked out into the center of the street and whispered something to her staff. She then held her staff up into the air and the debris then began to reform back into their normal spots until it looked like nothing had even happened. After a few minutes of helping out the injured, we went back to the ship and left the district behind. Celeste, Max, Zero Two, and I were standing around the holo-table which was showing a complete schematic of the ship as if Celeste was searching for something.

"This doesn't make sense. I don't how they could've found us if there's no tracking device on the ship," Celeste finally said.

"Maybe it was just a coincidence that they were there when we were," Max said.

"I don't think that's the case. I need to do more scans of the ship to be completely sure. Until then, I suggest that you all get some sleep."

"I'll stay up for a bit and help you. Maybe a second pair of eyes are just what you need."

"Yeah, well, I'm gonna go take a shower and then go to bed. I'll meet you there when you're done," I said. Max just smiled and kissed me on the forehead before me and Zero Two headed down the hall to our rooms.

"Well, that was fun," Zero Two said.

"Yeah. You really kicked ass today."

"Well, I did have you to help me out there."

"Yeah, I guess so."

"You know, that's another thing that I learned about being human on our Earth: living together with other humans, helping each other while also being true to our feelings. And I'm glad that we have friends like all of you," Zero Two said with a smile. I couldn't help but smile back. We both suddenly heard a door opening and saw Hiro standing in the doorway to Zero Two's room.

"Zero Two? Can I… speak with you, please?" he asked before he went back into the room. Zero Two gave me a nod and prepared to head into the room before I stopped her.

"Remember: honesty," I said. Zero Two gave me a thumbs up and before she started to walk away, she turned back around and gave me a hug to say thanks and then headed back into her room and shutting the door behind her.

**Hiro perspective**

I stared once again at the wedding photo of our friends as Zero Two walked into the room and stood in front of me with her hands behind her back.

"Still staring at that photo?" she asked. I just nodded silently before I deeply inhaled and prepared to talk.

"There's something that I need to tell you," we both said at the same time, making us lift our heads to each other.

"You go first," I said.

"Darling, please, you go first," Zero Two replied. I just put the photo down and stared at the floor in guilt.

"You were right. I was being selfish. I've just been so fixated on wanting to go home that I never considered how you felt. I said things that I never meant to say to you and I just… pushed you away when you were trying to protect me. And I am deeply, truly, sorry that I hurt you like that, Zero Two," I said. Zero Two just looked at me with sad eyes.

"Darling, I haven't been completely honest with you either. I thought that being here with you would be just like being home, even if it really wasn't. I DO miss our home. Our friends. I just… wanted to look on the bright side of things. And I'm sorry that I made it look like I didn't care. Look, if you want to go back, then I won't stop you. Whatever decision you make… is up to you," she said. But as she turned to leave, I grabbed her arm to stop her. She jumped a bit in surprise and turned back to me.

"No. That's not the answer. I shouldn't be making the decisions for the both of us! We should be making them TOGETHER! I made you a promise that we would always be together and I am not going to break that promise! I'm not going to go back to our Earth without you… and I'm not gonna let you stay here without me! If this is our destiny, then so be it! Together we are one, remember?" I said, putting my hands on her face. Zero Two immediately came to tears and smiled while snuggling my hand.

"Darling, I love you so much…" she said, crying. I gave her a tight hug and helped dry her tears before I gave her a kiss.

"And I love you. Forever and always."

"Then I want you to show me," Zero Two said before the two of us tumbled onto the bed. Before I could say anything, she started to unzip her uniform and kiss me.

"Zero Two… what are you-?" I started to ask. But Zero Two just put a finger on my lips and smiled.

"Darling, remember when I told you about what came after kissing? Well, I learned a bit more about what it actually means today. It's a way to show our love for one another. So… would you like to help me share the love?" she asked. I just smiled and silently nodded. Zero Two then fully took off her uniform and slipped out of her pants as I took off my clothes until I was in nothing but my underwear. Zero Two then began wildly kissing me on the lips and on the neck as she took off her bra and her panties, exposing her bare breasts and her crotch. I immediately flipped ourselves over and took over kissing her, drawing heavy moans from her as she took off my underwear. I don't know exactly what came over me, but it felt so good, even as she was guiding me. It felt like we could do it all night and no one would judge us. And as we continued to make love to one another, I couldn't help but feel happy. No matter where we were or in what time we were in, it was in each other's embrace where we would feel like we were home. We couldn't be separated. We would always be partners down to the very end.

**To Be Continued…**


	9. Chapter 9: Outlaws

HuniePop Space Adventures

Chapter 9: Outlaws

_The two lovers stared blissfully into each other's eyes as they intensely took off each other's clothes and tumbled onto the bed. The lieutenant was throbbing with anticipation as his hands found his way to the captain's bare chest and he began kneading her breasts._

"_Not so rough!" the captain said as the lieutenant continued. Although he was being completely rough with her poor breasts, she could not control her ecstatic moans and they made the lieutenant more and more desperate until he could no longer take it._

"_Permission to enter, Captain?" the lieutenant asked. The captain was taken aback by his question, but her uncontrollable and insatiable lust for him was too much and she gave him an extremely seductive smile._

"_Permission granted, lieutenant," the captain said. The lieutenant cautiously positioned himself to enter her cockpit and before either of them knew it, he savagely thrusted himself into her-_

"OK, SERIOUSLY! COULD YOU PLEASE STOP READING FROM THAT DAMN BOOK!" I finally yelled. Zero Two just looked at me with a bit of confusion. She was reading from one of the Jenny Jupiter light novels that she had bought and had decided to read probably one of the lewdest parts of it to me.

"Why? I was just getting to the good part," she replied.

"I know that, but it sounds wrong!"

"Really? I think that it's romantic."

"Well, OK, it is! But it's extremely embarrassing when you have to describe word for word!" I said, blushing bright red.

"Suit yourself," Zero Two said, shrugging and falling onto the bed with her hands behind her head.

"So, how did things go between you and Hiro last night?" I cautiously asked.

"It went pretty great. The two of us came to an understanding and we decided to stick together no matter what Earth we're on. Hehe, you should've seen him in action last night, he was so romantic."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, I think you know," Zero Two said, sitting up with a cheeky smile. I was a bit confused a first, but it took me almost 5 seconds to figure out what she was talking about.

"You didn't." I said. Zero Two just smiled some more.

"I did. And it. Felt. WONDERFUL!"

"Are you kidding me?! You can't just expect that everything will get better if you have sex!"

"No, no, no. We apologized to each other first, we talked about what would happen next and that we wouldn't leave each other, and THEN we had sex. You need to stop jumping to conclusions like that," Zero Two said. I just immediately blushed in response to her answer and how I had made a complete fool of myself.

"OK, well, when you word it like that, it's confusing to me, so PLEASE think before you speak next time," I said. Zero Two just nodded and hung off of the bed upside-down.

"I'm bored. You wanna go see what Darling and Max are up to?"

"They're busy training."

"Uh-huh. And?"

"What do you mean 'and'? They're just training."

"Exactly…" Zero Two said with a smug grin on her face.

**Max's perspective**

Hiro came in again swinging at me, but I was able to dodge out of the way and land a few light punches on him. I could tell that he was getting extremely worn out from the amount of training that we were doing, but he wasn't even letting up after the first 4 times I knocked him down. After he came in again, I swept his leg and knocked him to the ground for the fifth time. Hiro rubbed the back of his head in pain as I helped him back up to his feet and he bent over and put his hands on his knees, panting heavily.

"You OK? Do you need to take a breather?" I asked.

"You kidding? I can do this all day," Hiro said, looking up at me.

"You know, you say that, but you're not Captain America. You should stop trying to wear yourself out like this. You need to think about where and how to strike at the most opportune moment and locating their weakness earlier than they can locate yours."

"I know that! But Zero Two's way better at fighting without a FRANXX than I am, so I need to catch up to her level!"

"I understand that. But you don't need to continually push yourself just to be as good as she is. You've gotta pace yourself, give yourself some time to rest and relax before you train some more. I mean, you were able to knock me down once."

"And you've knocked me down five times! FIVE!"

"But you've been getting better. That's what you should be taking away from this."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"So… how did things go between you and Zero Two last night?" I asked as Hiro grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat off of his brow.

"It went great. We actually came to an agreement together that if we end up having to stay in this dimension, then we would stick together no matter what happens," he replied, wrapping the towel around his shoulders.

"I'm glad."

"I mean, I should be thanking you. You and Nikki were the ones that kept us from a worse outcome. If you didn't… I don't know what would've happened to either of us."

"You love her a lot, don't you?"

"With my whole heart. And she loves me with her whole heart as well."

"Maybe a lot more than you realize."

"What are you-" Hiro started to say. But he turned to where I was looking and saw Zero Two and Nikki standing behind the door to the gym, looking in on us. Zero Two had a cheeky smile on her face, but Nikki looked like she was extremely embarrassed to be peeping in on the two of us.

"Ummm, so what are you two doing?" I asked. Zero Two just cheekily walked in to the room, dragging Nikki along with her.

"Oh, we just wanted to see what you two were doing," Zero Two said.

"I told you this morning that I would be training with Max," Hiro said.

"I know. But we're just bored out of our MINDS and wanted to come watch you two train. With your aching muscles… and those glistening abs of yours…"

"And that weird birth mark on Hiro's chest…" Nikki said, which immediately set off Hiro, who covered up his chest like he was ashamed of that.

"It's not a birth mark! It's a scar from a tumor that I once had!" Hiro said.

"Dude, I was the only other one who asked you about that. You don't need to be so sensitive about it," I said.

"OK, but I don't see why they need to watch us spar with each other!"

"Well, then how about we make things a bit more interesting? How many times have each of you won?" Zero Two asked.

"I've won only once," Hiro said.

"And I've knocked him down 5 times," I said. To be honest, I really wanted to say only twice, but I just had to be honest with her.

"OK, then this is what your prizes are," Zero Two said, walking behind Nikki. Before any of us could ask what she was doing, she took off Nikki's shirt in one swift motion, exposing her bra. Nikki's face immediately turned bright red and immediately covered herself up in embarrassment.

"What the hell is your problem?!" Nikki yelled. Zero Two didn't answer and instead proceeded to take off her uniform top, both of her shoes, and both of her socks before she stood in front of us triumphantly.

"Uh, what is the point of you doing that?" I said, trying my best to avert my eyes away from her.

"It's simple. Every time you win, I take off a piece of clothing, and every time Darling wins, Nikki has to take a piece of her clothing off. The goal here is to not get distracted as you fight each other," Zero Two said, placing her hands on her hips.

"How exactly does that help anything?!" Nikki asked.

"And shouldn't it be the reverse way? If I win, you strip and if Max wins, Nikki strips? I mean, not that I'm suggesting that, I just think that it's common sense!" Hiro said. Zero Two and I just gave him a look of amusement.

"Attention all crew: Report to bridge in 3 minutes for mission debriefing," Celeste suddenly said over the intercoms.

"Awww, really? Just when it was getting interesting!" Zero Two said in frustration. Nikki just picked up her shirt and turned to head out the door.

"Look, I know that we're friends, but please, please, PLEASE, DO NOT take my shirt off like that next time," she said before she stormed off. After about three minutes, we all assembled at the bridge, where Celeste pulled up a map of a desert-like planet alongside a picture of a male alien with a slightly bushy mustache and a cowboy hat.

"We've received intercepted messages from Planet WW1873 concerning threats of one Lonergan Dolarhyde to capture some kind of ruthless bounty hunter," Celeste explained.

"A bounty on a bounty hunter? That just seems ironic," I said. Celeste just pulled up pictures of an unknown figure dressed in black shooting cowboys with pinpoint accuracy and a wanted poster with the reward of 150,000 dollars on it.

"The local legends call this person, 'The Four-Eyed Gunslinger' due to how fast and accurate that he shoots, almost like he knows where all the targets are and how to space his shots. But where he's stationed, his motives, all of them are unknown. All that we do know is that Dolarhyde's placed a large amount of money on this person's head and he's willing to put innocent people in harm's way just to get what he wants."

"What exactly is Dolarhyde's backstory?" Nikki asked.

"He's a ruthless crime lord. He runs the oil mills, owns the largest gold seams on the planet, and has his gang terrorize the populace every now and again. Our mission is to either apprehend or kill both the bounty hunter and Dolarhyde and put a stop to this war before it tears the planet apart. Any questions?"

"Actually, yeah. Are we even sure that killing or arresting the gunslinger is the best idea?" I asked.

"What?" Amki asked.

"I mean, it seems like this guy's trying to make a difference and protect people. Each of these photos shows him attacking the gang, not any innocent people. If we're gonna win the fight against the Overlord, we should start getting new recruits," I said. Everyone just turned their heads to me before Celeste just sighed.

"We will cross that bridge when we get to it, Max. Does anyone else have any other questions?... Dismissed. The fabricator will create some disguises and weapons to help us blend in with the populace. And Hiro, go wash yourself up. We will meet back up in 15 minutes," she said. As the group went to go get ready, Celeste pulled me aside.

"Max, what exactly are you suggesting?" she asked.

"Well, if this person is really trying to help people, then he'd be a great help to us taking down the Overlord. He seems fearless," I replied.

"I actually concur with Max. The more of us that there are to fight the Overlord, the better our chances of succeeding," Eva said, walking up to us.

"I do agree with that, but we would have to know exactly what this gunslinger's backstory is before we start recruiting," Celeste said.

"You're the boss."

"One more question: How much do you know about the Wild West?"

"I've seen a few Clint Eastwood movies in my day," I said, leaving to go get ready.

**Hiro's perspective**

I sat underneath the water, deep in thought as I let my skin soak. I just couldn't stop thinking about what went down last night. I mean, it did feel amazing and all, but it also felt like me and Zero Two did something really… what's the word? Dirty? Was this… what Kokoro and Mitsuru went through before they decided to get married? I immediately lifted my head out of the water to try and clear my head a bit. But my thoughts were still on what we did last night. Zero Two said that it was a way of expressing love, but it felt like there was more to it than that. My thoughts were broken by the sound of a slight splash coming from the other side of the bath, but I couldn't make out who it was because of the steam. After only a few seconds, I rested my head back again, trying to think some more. But I suddenly felt something grab my legs and I jumped in fear and surprise. Zero Two's head slowly rose out of the water with a smile and her eyes stared at me intensely.

"W-w-w-what are you doing in here?!" I asked, utterly confused and dumbfounded.

"You didn't lock the door," Zero Two said, pressing her naked body up against mine and gently kissing my neck.

"Dammit, I knew there was something I was forgetting! That aside, what are you doing?!"

"Oh, I think that you know, Darling," Zero Two replied. I awkwardly looked down in embarrassment as I slowly put together exactly what she was after.

"You mean… what we did last night?"

"Exactly. I want more of it."

"SERIOUSLY? We do it once and now you're like this?!"

"Well, nobody told me how good it would feel. Just two people, sharing their love for one another, their heads engulfed in thick, white, pleasant clouds. It's unlike any other feeling that I've ever had."

"I mean, yeah, it did feel really great, but shouldn't we pace ourselves? I mean, I would like to do it again with you, but I think we should take a break every once in a while. That plus the fact that we should be getting ready in about… 10 minutes?" I said. Zero Two just smiled some more and moved behind me, gently caressing my chest.

"That's what makes you so adorable, Darling. You're so considerate of my feelings. But you need to open up some more. You need to stop worrying so much. Otherwise, you'll never be able to relax," Zero Two said before she playfully nibbled on my ear. I don't know why, but I felt EXTREMELY disturbed and aroused at the same time.

"Why are you biting my ear?!" I asked, trying to get away from her.

"It's called 'foreplay', Darling. It's a way of trying to get you into the mood."

"OK, look. Can we just focus on the mission first and we'll worry about the other thing later?" I asked. Zero Two just smiled and got out of the bath, wrapping a towel around her body.

"I think that's fair. But you better be ready for a relentless assault later, because we'll be going at it until we're both tired! So be prepared, Darling," Zero Two said, heading out the door and leaving me in the bath, a little more light-headed than I was earlier.

**Nikki's perspective**

The poncho Celeste gave me was a nice snug fit as I put on the cowgirl belt and took a look at myself in the mirror.

"Looking pretty good if I do say so myself," I said, making a couple of finger guns at my reflection. But Max came in from behind and placed a Stetson on my head, smiling at me in the mirror. He too had a poncho on top of his armor and a cowboy belt and a Stetson.

"Now, you look complete," he said. I just turned to him and put my arms around him, smiling.

"You look like McCree."

"Who's McCree?" Zero Two asked, entering the room.

"Eh, that doesn't matter right now. So, are you ready?" Max asked.

"For what?" Hiro asked, trying to get his prototype battle suit on. Max just smiled and pressed a button on the wall, revealing two upgraded armored battle suits. The one on the left was red with fingerless gloves and high heels and the pistols Zero Two used before on the thighs, along with light blue stripes running along the arms. The one on the right was a dark blue with broad shoulder pads and a bandolier across the chest as well as a belt with grenades on it. Both Hiro and Zero Two just looked in awe at the suits, completely speechless.

"Wait a minute… these… are ours?" Zero Two asked.

"Yeah. Celeste drew up a few designs and Max and I picked out the colors for you guys," I said.

"So, why are you showing them to us?" Hiro asked as he closely inspected his suit.

"Because you're going with us! Why else would we show these to you if you weren't going with us?" Max asked. Zero Two immediately took her suit down from the wall and put it on with Hiro following suit. Both of them stood there in awe and triumph as they showed off their suits to us.

"How do they feel?" I asked.

"It feels great. Except it feels a bit tight in the shoulders," Hiro said, rubbing underneath the armor plates on his shoulders.

"Yeah, the suit should adjust to your body the more that you wear it. The suits are like high grade body armor to help protect you from blaster bolts and debris and things like that," Max said.

"Hey, Darling, I have a question for you. Does this suit make my butt look big?" Zero Two asked, turning around and presenting herself to Hiro. Her suit was also a bit tight and it was perfectly sculpted to her ass. Hiro just blushed and his nose started to bleed a bit. I also started to blush a bit, but when I looked at Max, his head was turned in the other direction and his face was its normal color. Zero Two couldn't help but giggle a bit.

"Zero Two, may I ask that you refrain from asking derogatory questions unless you and Hiro are alone?" Celeste asked, walking into the room and handing each of us a revolver.

"What are these?" Hiro asked.

"Standard issue revolvers. They are common on the planet and are usually carried around by gunslingers and cowboys. They use plasma-tipped bullets that are extremely lethal and damaging. I advise using caution when using them and avoiding any fights while you try to track down the bounty hunter and Dolarhyde."

"What? We can't use our normal weapons?" Max asked.

"The residents of this planet don't mind if other aliens with more advanced tech come to visit, but we're just making it seem like we've been here a long time," Celeste said, placing a hat on Zero Two's head.

"Anything else that we should know?" she asked.

"Don't die."

"Well, duh," I said. After about 5 minutes, we were teleported 10 miles outside of the town and after a REALLY long walk, we finally reached the main street of the town. Celeste apparently was right about the planet being like the Wild West of Earth. The residents were all walking to and from different buildings. There was a bank, a post office, a sheriff's office, a gunsmith store, a general store, and a saloon. The residents either wore rugged cowboy attire or classy suits and frilly dresses. Some were riding their horses, others were tending to their shops or sitting on chairs on the deck. Everything seemed to be all quiet and peaceful.

"So, this is what old towns on Earth looked like?" Zero Two asked.

"It's how they once looked on Earth in the 1800s. Some towns nowadays look like this to try and give a sense of nostalgia to that time," I replied.

"Is there somewhere that we need to go? This poncho's really starting to itch," Hiro asked.

"The saloon is always a good start. That's usually where any cowboys, gangs, or bounty hunters like to hang out," Max said.

"What's a saloon?" Zero Two asked.

"Oh, you know, it's the place where people go to drink beer, play darts, that sort of stuff," I said. We made our way over to the saloon and walked inside. Surprisingly, nobody stopped what they were doing like they did in the movies. They just went about their business, drinking, talking, dancing, playing cards and darts. As we made our way to the counter, a few did turn to us and gave us a smile while tipping their hats or doing a curtsy. When we did get to the counter, Max and I just looked around as the bartender came over to us.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"Just that we thought that we would get the whole 'awkward silence' treatment the second we walked in here," I said.

"Yeah, newcomers and visitors are pretty commonplace. Everybody around here has gotten pretty used to it by now."

"Well, that's convenient," Max said, looking around the room again.

"So, anyways, you gonna order somethin' or you just here to talk about where to drop off the dead bodies?... Hehe, just kiddin' with ya. You can take yer time if ya want," the bartender said, walking away to help some more customers.

"This place looks very eccentric," Zero Two said, twirling the lollipop she had.

"And a bit too normal," I added.

"So, what exactly do we do now?" Hiro asked.

"Wait here until we can find a lead on the bounty hunter or Dolarhyde. I'll bet that the next person who walks through those doors is associated with either of them," Max said. As if on cue, a group of burly-looking aliens barged in through the door, making everything fall silent for about 30 seconds before everyone went back to what they were doing. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that there were six of them, all armed with the same revolvers that we had. They slowly walked closer and closer toward the counter until the leader stood directly in front of Zero Two, who was drumming her fingers on the counter.

"Hey. You're in my seat," the leader said gruffly. Zero Two just looked back at him for a second before getting off the chair and closely examining it.

"Zero Two, what are you doing?" Hiro whispered through his teeth. Zero Two just kept looking all around the chair like she was looking for something.

"Wait, I'm sorry. What exactly is your name?" she asked.

"Doesn't matter," the leader replied.

"Hmmmm… nope, don't see that name or any other on this chair. Sorry about that!"

"I don't care that it doesn't have a name or that you were there first. It's my seat, so get lost!"

"Zero Two, just give the alien his seat, please," I muttered under my breath. But, Zero Two just held up a finger to me and casually smiled at the alien leader.

"Now, listen. We can come to a compromise. If you ask me nicely, I'll give you the chair. Do we have a deal?" Zero Two asked politely. But the alien leader angrily picked her up by the throat, causing a bunch of people in the saloon to gasp in fear and turn their heads towards us.

"You listen here, foreigner! I don't know who you think you are nor do I care, but this town is property of Lonergan Dolarhyde. And we're a part of his gang. Anything that we say goes without question or bargaining!" he said.

"I didn't ask you for money. I just asked for a 'Please let me have the seat'. It's a fair deal, right? You don't need to be so difficult," Zero Two said, smugly. The gang leader just pulled out his revolver and pointed it at her head. Hiro was frantically tapping his leg and Max reached for his own revolver. But before anyone could do anything, a female voice rang out.

"Put her down," it said. Everyone turned their attention to the right side of the room. Sitting at one of the tables was a female alien with dark purple hair wearing a black leather jacket that had purple glowing outlines along the sides. She was also wearing a black cropped shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbow underneath her jacket, a black western hat, a black bandana mask which was covering her face, a bandolier of ammunition, a mini fringed poncho draped over her left shoulder with a spiked shoulder pad covering her right shoulder, and spiked pads on her forearms. Holstered on her belt was a revolver, but it looked more advanced than ours did and the back of her boots had spurs on them.

"What did you say to me?" the gang leader asked, tightening his grip on Zero Two.

"I said… Put. Her. Down," the female alien said. The gang leader dropped Zero Two and turned to face the woman, holstering his revolver.

"So, you think you make the rules around these parts, doll-face?" he asked. The woman just pulled down her bandana and lit up a small cigarillo. After she had smoked it, she stared at the gang leader with her fierce green eyes.

"Well, this IS my saloon. So, yes, I do make the rules here. And if there's one thing that I hate that comes in here, it's gang members causin' a whole lot of trouble for a bunch of decent folks just tryin' to settle down," the female alien said.

"Well, maybe you didn't hear the news around here. Dolarhyde put a huge bounty on this so-called 'Four-Eyed Gunslinger' and we heard that this here saloon was where he loved to kick back until his next job!"

"Heh. Well, Dolarhyde's runnin' out of smarter recruits."

"The hell's that supposed to mean?!"

"The Four-Eyed Gunslinger that you're lookin' for? She's sittin' right in front of ya," the female alien said. Me, Max, Zero Two, and Hiro looked straight at her with wide eyes while the rest of the room fell silent. The gang leader just scoffed.

"You? Don't make me laugh. Since when was the Four-Eyed Gunslinger ever a woman?!" he asked. The female alien just gave him a smirk.

"Since always. It's just that any wannabe bounty hunters that Dolarhyde sent have never survived an encounter with me. If I were you, I would take that as a sign to get out of town and live another day instead of risking your lives for a bounty you can't get. So, I'll give you one more chance. Get out of my saloon and tell Dolarhyde that if he wants to take me down, he needs to do it himself."

"Uh, boss? Maybe we should listen to her," one of the gang members said. But the leader just shoved him to the side and stared down the female alien, his right hand hovering over his holstered revolver.

"I think that it's best that we settle this the old fashioned way…" the leader said. The entire saloon was silent, safe for the ticking of a clock that read 11:59 with its minute hand slowly making its way towards the top. The female alien looked both left and right as the gang stood behind the leader on either side.

"You REALLY sure that you wanna go down this road, boy?" she asked. The leader didn't answer her and continued to breathe in and out, waiting for the most opportune moment to strike. And then the minute hand reached the top.

"DR-!" the alien leader barely got the entire word out of his mouth before, in the blink of an eye, the female alien took out her revolver, pointed it at the leader's head, and shot him. The gang leader's body fell to the floor with a thud and the rest of his gang just stood there, completely stunned.

"Anyone else?" she asked. All that the rest of the gang could reply with was taking out their own revolvers and pointing them at her. But she shot them down one-by-one in quick succession, leaving only one left. The female got up from the table and approached the cowering member, her revolver still in hand.

"Looks like you're the lucky one, boy. The only question you gotta ask yourself is if you're gonna walk out of here and forget about all of this or if you still want the bounty. It's your choice," the female alien said to him. The member didn't do anything at first and the female alien turned and started to walk out of the saloon, but as she made her way to the door, the remaining member pulled out his revolver and aimed it at her. Max immediately leapt into action and aimed his own revolver at the gang member and fired. Unfortunately, the gang member heard him fire and moved out of the way of the bullet, which sped towards the side of the female alien's head. She suddenly moved her revolver's cylinder into the bullet's path, which slid into one of the chambers and she turned back around and shot the last gang member in the head, who fell to the ground dead. The female alien holstered her revolver and looked back at Max before she tipped her hat to him.

"Y'all have a nice day. Barkeep, give everyone drinks. Put 'em on my tab," she said before she walked out of the saloon. Everyone just started talking about what just happened and some of the cowboys started to move the bodies out while Hiro started taking a look at Zero Two's neck.

"Are you OK?" he asked.

"I'm fine, Darling, Honestly," Zero Two replied, smiling. After about 25 minutes, everything in the saloon returned to the way it was when we first arrived. Zero Two and Hiro were now dancing with some of the residents to a song of celebration. Max, meanwhile, was deep in thought about what we were going to do next while we both sat at the counter.

"What's on your mind?" I asked.

"Just how we're gonna get her to join us. I mean, did you see those reflexes of hers? Someone as fast as that is DEFINITELY a great fighter," he said, taking a sip of the beer he had. He then held it out to me as if to offer me some.

"I can't drink."

"Why not?"

"I just… think that we should have our minds focused on the mission instead of dulling it with alcohol. Besides, you heard what Celeste said! We need to either apprehend her or put her down," I said.

"Yeah, but it seems like she's more focused on killing Dolarhyde than anything else. Besides, she seemed like she wasn't about to let anyone get hurt," Max replied. Another big, burly alien, more properly dressed with a bowtie, suddenly walked up to Max and tapped his shoulder.

"Hey, human. The boss wants to speak to ya," he said.

"What for?"

"Boss said it was important. This way, please," the alien said. Max picked up his hat and got up from the table, following him into the side hallway. Zero Two and Hiro then came back from the dance floor and sat down at the counter with me.

"Where's he going?" Zero Two asked.

"Hell if I know. But I'm sure that he can handle it. He always does," I replied.

**Max's perspective**

The muscular alien led me up the stairs and down the hall to an office that had a chair in the middle of the room, which I walked into.

"The boss'll be with you in a minute," the alien said before he closed the door and left. I just sat down in the chair and patiently waited. I looked around the office, spotting a semi-automatic rifle mounted on the wall underneath a stuffed mounted head of an animal. There was also a bookshelf with some kind of books with names I could make out and a normal looking rug, which seemed a bit out of place for the Wild West aspect of this planet. On the rack next to the desk was a black western hat and a long black leather jacket with a pair of cowboy shoes sitting at the base of it.

"So, you're the human who lent me that bullet, aren't ya?" a female voice said from behind a folding screen. Her voice sounded a bit familiar.

"Uh, yeah, that was me," I replied. And then, without any warning, the female alien walked out from behind the folding screen, completely naked and slightly wet. It was the same alien from before, except I could see even more of her body. Her skin was a light purplish color and I saw that she had two smaller eyes above her main ones. But what stood out the most were her breasts, which were about as large as Nikki's were. My face blushed bright red and I turned away from the alien. She came over to me and sat her naked ass down on my lap, making me feel uncomfortable and my pants feel a bit tighter.

"Well, I guess that I should be thankin' you. Saved my bacon back there. I mean, sure, if he had shot first, I would've done the exact same move I pulled back there, but you were a quicker draw than he was."

"Uh-huh," I said. The female alien sat down a grabbed my chin and made me face her.

"Don't you know that it's rude to not look a woman in the eye when she's talkin' to ya?"

"I know that. It's just that you're… completely naked right now."

"Yeah. It helps me think when I get outta the shower," the female alien said, having a smoke of her cigarillo. After she breathed the smoke out, she held it up to me as if to offer it to me.

"I don't smoke."

"Suit yourself. So, you got a name?"

"Max Smith. And you are?"

"Name's Rhonda. So, what the hell's a human like you doin' all the way out here? Last I heard, it was illegal for any alien species to abduct humans."

"We heard about Dolarhyde and the bounty he placed on your head."

"So you and your crew are here to either kill us or send us both to jail."

"Well, that was the original plan, but I was hoping to come to a compromise," I said as Rhonda disappeared behind the folding screen again.

"Oh, yeah? And what's that?" she asked as she got changed.

"You ever heard of the Overlord?"

"Never heard of him."

"He's this overly powerful alien who wants to rewrite the universe the way that he wants. Me and my team have been trying to figure out how to take him down."

"And you think that a ragtag cowgirl like me is the solution to your problem?" Rhonda asked as she walked back out, fully dressed.

"Sort of. But, it's got to be better than just hiding out on a planet where you'll be continually hunted down by every bounty hunter Dolarhyde sends at you," I said. Rhonda just walked over to a window and looked out over the town.

"It runs deeper than that. When I was just a little girl, Dolarhyde shot down both of my parents because they wouldn't move from the ranch I grew up on. They hid me deep in the basement before he killed them and Dolarhyde burnt down the ranch. The town's local gunsmith raised me and helped me hone my skills for the day I would finally put him down. This revolver I have here? He made it himself. It fires custom high-caliber ammunition with technological enhancements, which means I have an advantage against him and his crew."

"So why haven't you taken them out by now?"

"There's just too many of them. Dolarhyde keeps recruiting more and more hunters to add to his crew and he sends several of them to try an' get rid of me. If I leave this town before he's dead, then he'll take over and kill everyone who gets in his way. Several of the hunters that he sends are still young and are throwing away their lives for the bounty on my head. I've never seen so many men wasted so bad."

"Wait a minute. That quote… The Man With No Name?" I asked.

"You've heard of him? My ancestors idolized him. Saw him as one of the great legends from Earth. After my parents died, I saw fit to learn from his example and be a silent defender, goin' where I needed to protect the innocent and keep the peace," Rhonda said. I got up from the chair and stood behind her, staring out the window as well.

"That's what we're trying to do. If the Overlord succeeds in his plans, no planet will be safe to live on. And if you wanna take down Dolarhyde, then you should do it with a team, not alone. And luckily, there's a spot open for you on the team, if you're willing," I said. Rhonda looked back at me with a smile.

"How 'bout this? You help me with my problem, I'll help you with yours. Free of charge, of course."

"Sounds like a plan to me… partner," I said, extending my hand to her. Rhonda shook it and then walked over to the semi-automatic rifle and took it down off of the wall and then put on her hat, jacket, and shoes. We then exited out the window (although I don't know why we couldn't go out the normal way) and made our way back to the town. But, as we were, Hiro suddenly busted out the door and began vomiting on the ground, with Zero Two following behind him and gently rubbing his back. Nikki also walked out, but she was completely shocked to see Rhonda standing next to me.

"Uh, Max? Why is SHE here?" she asked.

"We're gonna help her take down Dolarhyde. But… what happened to him?" I asked, pointing at Hiro, who was still vomiting.

"He drank some beer and I think that it's not agreeing with him."

"God, that stuff is so disgusting!" Hiro said, finally standing up.

"Yeah, that Kandolorian ale is pretty strong stuff," Rhonda said, taking a smoke of her cigarillo again.

"Well, I'm glad I didn't even bother drinking it. I don't think I would've liked it either!" Zero Two said.

"So, what do we do now?" Nikki asked.

"Now… we ride," Rhonda said.

**Rhonda's perspective**

I have to say, riding through the desert alongside a gang of my own was… pretty damn good. One of my pals was able to lend us four horses so we could ride all the way out to where Dolarhyde's hideout was. But when we were almost 15 miles away, we spotted a pretty big spaceship just sittin' in the desert in plain sight. Max immediately steered away from the group towards the ship and the rest of us followed him all the way to the ship, where we saw the rest of his team. As we got down off of our horses, the blue one seemed really mad.

"Max, what is this?!" she yelled.

"Like I told you, we need more allies to help us take down the Overlord. Rhonda here is going to help us do that after we take down Dolarhyde," Max said. I walked over to the blue one and held out my hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," I said. But she didn't take my hand. She just gave me an angry look.

"Max, I thought we agreed that she either apprehended or…"

"Celeste, we obviously weren't going to kill her," Max said.

"Plus, think of this as you apprehendin' me and now I need to serve my sentence by helpin' you," I said, taking another smoke.

"AND she lives for danger! That's why I respect her the most! …Also, Darling, can you let go of my breasts now?" Zero Two said. Sure enough, Hiro was clinging to her harder than a baby possum to its mama. He blushed hard and fell down off the horse.

"Sorry! My head was still feeling a bit fuzzy and I didn't want to fall off, so I-," he started to say.

"Darling, if you really wanted to touch me that much, all you had to do was asked. In fact, if you wanted, you could've grabbed a little lower. Like a lot lo-"

"Can you two love birds table that discussion? We've got business to finish!" I interrupted, taking out my revolver and walking towards the hideout.

"You listen! I am the leader of this team and I make the decisions! Not you!" Celeste said, walking in front of me.

"An' I respect that. But I was born here and I know these lands better than anyone else here. Just think of this as 'temporary leadership'. You know, until after we kill Dolarhyde," I said.

"She's got a point. Who better to lead us than someone who knows the place?" the Quadrasapien behind her said.

"That's because you were a rebel before, Amki!" Celeste said.

"That was ONE TIME!"

"OK, look. Bottom line: We need to take down Dolarhyde before this gets too out of hand and innocent people die as a result. I trust Max. And if she says that Rhonda can help, then we should let her," Nikki said.

"Alright, fine. But, just so we're clear: If you try to escape after we're done, we WILL hunt you down and you WILL be sent to jail or executed," Celeste said.

"Sounds like a plan to me. Now could you please get that ship outta here? You're gonna attract some unwanted attention and we're in EXTREMELY dangerous territory here!" I said. Celeste just pressed a button on her wrist and the entire ship disappeared, which I just smirked at. We then trekked through the desert on foot until we were within long range firing distance of the base. Surrounding the hideout were a whole bunch of bounty hunters and gang members, all armed and lookin' mighty angry. Standing outside was the head honcho himself, Lonergan Dolarhyde, with his black Stetson, his rugged suit and tie, and those sleazy shoes of his, who was talking to an armored figure and some kind of dominatrix. Celeste pulled out a pair of binoculars and aimed them at with a small microphone popping out. She gave me a pair of headphones so that I could hear.

"So you have what the Overlord requires?" the dominatrix asked.

"Everythin' is right here. 500 pounds of smelted Pyrothium metal, a thousand pounds of galvanic-grade wiring, and 200 pounds worth of celestine quartz. As per our agreement," Dolarhyde said, twirlin' his mustache. The dominatrix pressed a button on her wrist and the supplies Dolarhyde were talking about disappeared within beams of light.

"Here's your payment," the armored one said, tossing a bag of money at Dolarhyde. He simply opened the bag and gave a wicked smile before he closed it and tipped his hat at them.

"Much obliged. Please give the Overlord my regards, would ya kindly?"

"OK, look. I'll cause a distraction and the rest of you sneak around th' back and take them by surprise," I whispered.

"I'll give you some cover," Rhea said. She held out her staff and whipped up a small sandstorm that reduced the visibility to make it seem like I was just appearing out of the sand. The entire gang was confused as to what was going on and the second that they saw me, they tried to fire at me. I took out my revolver and shot down each of them without even missing once despite the sand whipping all around me. I then walked out of the sandstorm to face Dolarhyde and the rest of his gang head on.

"Well, well, well! Rhonda Rygel, the Four-Eyed Gunslinger! Thought you'd be around sooner or later…" Dolarhyde said, lighting a cigar with a smile.

"Well, you've forced my hand, Dolarhyde. You keep sendin' your damn goons to threaten the local folk, so I had no other choice but to take you out myself," I replied. Dolarhyde just smugly snapped his fingers and one of his best men walked over to his side. The fella was a 7-foot tall Snapptheian named Fred. The Snapptheians were mean bastards with large mouths and row upon row of teeth and very small brains. Fred had all of that, but he was also well dressed with a bowler hat on his overgrown head.

"As much as I'd love to deal with you, Fred here's been dying to have a go at ya. Play nice with him."

"Hehehe. I always wanted to go toe-to-toe with the so called gunslinger I've heard of around town," he said, walking up to me and cracking his knuckles.

"Is that so?" I asked. Fred just gave me a toothy grin and pulled out his revolver, pointing it at me.

"Y'know, seven of my buddies died because of you. And right now, I've got you right where I-," he continued to say. But I immediately took out my revolver and shot him straight in the head. His body fell right to the ground, splattering blood into the sand.

"If you're gonna shoot, shoot. Don't talk," I said. Dolarhyde looked a bit peeved, but he didn't seem that upset.

"Well, that's a shame. He still owed me a bit of money," he said, taking another smoke of his cigar.

"Now listen Dolarhyde, because I'm only going to warn you once. Call your gang off and let's settle this the old-fashioned way."

"It's a feint. Her team has probably gotten around back and taken out half of this gang," the dominatrix said to Dolarhyde. But he just scoffed and then laughed.

"Are you kiddin' me? She's a loner. She's been that way her entire life and she'll be that way for the rest of her pathetic life!"

"Well, you're right about one thing, Dolarhyde. I have been alone all my life. But, as the saying goes… times change," I said before I took my revolver and shot him in the shoulder. The rest of his gang immediately returned fire but I took cover behind a partially destroyed carriage. I then threw out a flashbang grenade, which stunned a few gang members, and shot each of them down. I got into a fist fight with one of the gang members and used him as a body shield as I made my way into the hideout. The dominatrix and the armored human both disappeared in pillars of light, leaving Dolarhyde and his gang to fight alone. After I had gotten into the hideout, a bunch of gang members surrounded me, all pointing my revolvers at me, but Max came in from behind one of them and stabbed him in the back with his arm blade while Nikki created a shield for him to protect him from the gunfire while I took cover behind the bar where Celeste and Zero Two had also taken cover.

"So, what exactly was this plan of yours?" Celeste asked.

"Kill every one of Dolarhyde's men and then we turn our attention to the big man himself," I said as I threw out another flashbang.

"No. You need to take him down NOW. Do not let him call in any reinforcements or we all die!"

"Now you're speaking my language! Zero Two! Give me some cover!"

"With pleasure!" Zero Two replied. She took out one of the folding tables from underneath the bar and used it like a shield as we made our way to Dolarhyde's office. Several of his gang members shot at the table as we inched our way over to the door. But when we were pretty much there, a large muscular hand busted through the wall and grabbed me and threw me out of the hideout. It was Fred again. The thing about Snapptheians is that they have unusually thick skulls, meaning that they could survive a plasma bullet to the brain and still fight. Fred pinned me to the ground and took a revolver from one of the fallen gang members before pointing it at my face. I took a flashbang grenade from my bandolier and threw it at his face, which disorientated him a bit and made him stumble backward into a flaming carriage. I took out my semi-auto rifle and shot out all four of his eyes. He angrily roared and blindly charged forward to attack me, but I dodged out of the way and he instead crashed into Dolarhyde's office. His startled men shot up Fred like a wild animal until one gang member finished him off with a shotgun blast. Before his body even hit the ground as I rolled into the room, I took both my semi-auto rifle and my revolver and shot up the rest of the gang until only Dolarhyde was left. He sat against the wall, holding his shoulder as he bleed out and I stood over him with a menacing look, pointing my revolver at his face.

"Now, I know what you're thinkin': 'Did she fire six shots or only five?' Well, truth be told in all this excitement, I've kinda lost track myself. But, right now, you've only got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, PUNK?" I said. Dolarhyde just angrily spit blood onto the floor and looked at me with pure disgust.

"Do you really think anybody in town will appreciate what you've done? You'll be nothing more than an outlaw!" he said.

"What exactly did those two want with those supplies?"

"The Overlord won't tell me anything. All I know is that his zealots are all over the galaxy. If I were you, I'd give up."

"You took my family from me. My whole life. And now here you are, bleeding and broken with my gun pointed at your face. I never give up. But, you? You're nothing but dirt beneath my boot," I said as I pressed my foot into his shoulder, making him scream in pain.

"Wait, wait! Look, I can't tell you much, but I do know someone who knows how to defeat the Overlord!" Dolarhyde screamed as I pressed my boot further onto his shoulder.

"And who might that be?"

"He's this crazy guy who was once a zealot. He was involved in this crazy attack and he got arrested for it. If you let me live, I'll tell you where he is!"

"You already did. When someone crazy like that attacks a large populace and gets arrested, where do you think they put 'em?" I said. I took my foot off of his shoulder and took his revolver off the desk. I tossed it to his feet and prepared to head out the door, leaving him to die. Unfortunately, as I predicted, Dolarhyde picked up the gun and tried in vain to shoot me, only for him to find that the gun was empty. I turned around and showed him that I had taken the bullets from the gun, which I dropped to the ground.

"You're out of bullets. And you know what that means… you're shit outta luck," I said. I then took out my revolver and shot Dolarhyde in the head with the last bullet that I had. His lifeless body fell to the ground and I exited the hideout. As Max and the rest of the team rounded up the rest of Dolarhyde's men, I took of my hat and bandana and looked up towards the sky. Over 16 years of me trying to take down the man who killed my family and his gang war had finally come to an end. I couldn't help but feel happiness now that my family had been avenged.

**Max's perspective**

I looked out over the horizon with the binoculars I had back on the Centurion. Celeste and Nikki were also looking out over the horizon with me while Odango, Rhea, and Zero Two were trying to dislodge a bullet Hiro had in his side. Amki, on the other hand, was busy taking a shower while Eva was trying to get the Centurion ready for takeoff.

"Ow. OK, OW!" Hiro said as Odango used a pair of tweezers to cautiously pull out the bullet.

"Darling, the more that you struggle, the more it's going to hurt," Zero Two said.

"I know that, but I thought that Rhea said that her magic would dull the pain!"

"Well, yes, but the more that I use magic, the weaker it becomes later on. That's why I usually meditate in order to make it stronger," Rhea said as Odango patched up his wound.

"So, you see her yet?" Zero Two asked as she helped Hiro to his feet.

"Nope. But she DID say that she had to take the horses back and take Dolarhyde's men to the sheriff," I said.

"Well, I should go get some rest and let this heal," Hiro said.

"I'll join you. Maybe we can get some time to ourselves," Zero Two replied as they walked away to their room. I still scanned the horizon, looking for any sign of Rhonda, but there was nothing so far.

"If she doesn't show up in the next five minutes, we're going out after her," Celeste said.

"Well, she did save a lot of people. Maybe she just got held up," Nikki said. I nodded in agreement before I looked back through the binoculars and saw a small dust cloud speeding towards us. I barely had time to jump out of the way before Rhonda sped past us on a red hoverbike and swerved to a stop. She got off of the bike and walked over to us.

"Sorry 'bout the holdup. Hope I'm not late," she said, taking a smoke of her cigarillo.

"Actually, you're right on time. Glad you could join us," I said.

"Well, I'm a woman of my word. I'm pleased to have been apprehended by y'all."

"Actually, Max and I have talked at length and we've decided that it's better that you are treated like a team member rather than a prisoner. You put yourself at risk to help us and saved countless lives," Celeste said.

"And having you on the team would be a really big help," Nikki added. Rhonda just gave us a content smile.

"I do, however, have one rule on this ship: No smoking," Celeste said. Rhonda flicked her cigarillo outside the ship and adjusted her belt.

"I can live with that. But, just wondering… I can smoke OUTSIDE the ship, right?" she asked.

"You may. Max and Nikki will show you to living quarters," Celeste said. We took Rhonda up the stairs to an empty room similar to the ones the rest of us had. She went into the room and sat down on the bed, taking off her jacket and her hat.

"This looks nice."

"Yeah, everyone decorates their room every now and again. You're welcome to do so if you want to," Nikki said.

"Y'know, I always wanted to be part of a team. I don't know why, but I just felt like doing the whole 'lone gunslinger' thing was never enough for me," Rhonda said.

"Well, that's one of the benefits. You can never do certain things alone and having others to help you is the best way to get a job done. We're here for each other," I said, putting my arm around Nikki's shoulder. Rhonda couldn't help but smile again.

"I appreciate that. Now, if you'll excuse me, there's a nap I need to take right now. Wake me up when we get to wherever we're goin', partners," she said, making us laugh.

**To Be Continued…**


	10. Chapter 10: Jailbreakers

HuniePop Space Adventures

Chapter 10: Jailbreakers

A normal morning. That's how it always starts with normal people. They just wake up on a good day, have breakfast with family, friends, or loved ones, talk about what they wanna do. Well, I may not be normal, but I was damn sure going to try and be a normal person starting today. Right now, I was enjoying a hearty breakfast with a bit of bloonberry syrup drizzled on top. Just a little. Of course, my friends Max and Nikki didn't seem to think so even as I ate with a fork.

"Zero Two, I appreciate that you're now eating with a fork, but could you NOT drench your food in syrup?" Nikki asked. OK, yeah, I didn't just drizzle a bit of syrup on my food. But, could you really blame me? The syrup was SO good. As I continued to eat, Darling came in and sat down beside me.

"Baby steps, Nikki. She's getting better with her manners and her eating habits," he said.

"Yeah, I know that. It's not like she didn't have any manners before."

"Awww, that's nice of you," I said. But when I looked back at Darling, I nearly choked. His horns were gone as well as the eyeliner he once had on and his eyes were now the normal blue they once were. I immediately grabbed his face and closely inspected his eyes, lifted his hair, and opened his mouth to take a closer look at his teeth.

"Ow. OK, OW! What are you… ack… doing right now?" Darling asked as I continued to examine him. I finally stopped and looked him in the eyes while I smushed his cheeks together.

"How'd you do it?" I asked. Darling just look at me, confused.

"Do what?"

"Make the horns disappear and turn your eyes back to normal."

"Oh, that. Well, just watch," Darling said. He then closed his eyes and his horns and the blue eyeliner slowly reappeared and his eyes turned cyan again.

"OooooK, what the hell were you drinking to be able to do that?" Max asked.

"Rhea taught me. Turns out that the same way our horns get larger when we get angry, we can also concentrate and become 'human', so to speak."

"You mean lose the horns, the eyeliner, and make your eyes look normal?" Nikki asked as Darling became human again.

"Something like that. But, if we do end up staying in this dimension, it's an effective way of blending in with everyone else," he said. I immediately got up from the table and ran toward Rhea's room. She was in the middle of meditating and jumped in fear when I barged into the room.

"I need you to teach me how to become human," I said. Rhea just looked at me all confused like I had two heads… or however that phrase went.

"I'm sorry?" she asked.

"You made him become human. I want you to teach me that," I said. After about two minutes of explaining, Rhea set up a candlelit circle with me in the middle. Around the circle were smaller circles with glyphs in the middle of them.

"So, you wish to learn what Hiro learned?" Rhea asked. I eagerly nodded and she blew some kind of blue flame which lit up each of the candles and the circle began to glow.

"Very well then. In order to help you become human, we must journey into your mind and unlock that ability. Are you prepared to venture into the unknown?"

"I am," I said. Rhea's hands started to glow and each crease and line of the room began to glow as well.

"Then you must do one thing: Free your mind," she said before she outstretched her hands and the entire room became like a starry sky before the stars all became neurons and my memories all surrounded the two of us.

"Whoa," I said. It was like I was inside my own brain. Each of my memories were separated into different groups, each symbolized by what kind of memory they were. For the happy memories, it was a soft white with beams of sunlight. For my sad and depressed memories, the color was blue with rain clouds above them. My memories regarding anger, fear, and hate were surrounded by dark clouds with red lightning and a ring of fire beneath them. As for my memories of passion and love, it was pink with love hearts.

"As you can see, these are your very memories. If you wish to be human, you must choose a memory that you hold dear and focus on that one memory while I begin the procedure," Rhea said. I looked around at each of my memories, scanning for one that I held most dear. When I found one, I held my hands out to it and the sphere floated gently towards me. The memory that I had chosen was the day when Darling and I first met. The day when he freed me and he wanted to be my darling. The memory went up toward the moment when we were about to be captured by the adults, but the memory looped back to the beginning and resumed. I couldn't help but smile at how beautiful that memory was. I looked behind the memory sphere briefly and saw that Rhea had an illusion of a DNA strand, which she was plucking lines out of them and rearranging them.

"So, what exactly are you doing?" I asked.

"My people often helped other alien species adopt human-like features so they could live a new life. The way that we did so was by rearranging certain DNA strands that would allow them to shapeshift. It's a very advanced kind of magic with long term results, but in order to obtain a successful first transformation, the patient must find one of their memories that puts them at ease and focus on that. Now then, focus on your cherished memory," Rhea said. I closed my eyes and gently focused on my first meeting with Darling as the sphere enveloped the two of us.

"You feel it, don't you? That feeling of peacefulness. You feel at ease in his embrace and feel that you can be human around him. You must focus on this moment to truly become human. To be that whom you desire to be. Are you prepared?" Rhea asked me.

"I am," I replied, keeping my eyes closed.

"Oh, gracious ancestors. I beseech you to help this beautiful soul and grant that which she seeks: the gift of humanity. Give me the power to grant her this gift and to allow her to become human!" Rhea said in some kind of prayer-like way. It felt like there was some kind of pain coming from my chest and my head started to feel dizzy and distorted until a bright light engulfed the two of us and the entire room went back to normal. As quickly as the pain in my chest and head came, it all suddenly went away and I panted heavily. Rhea then held a mirror in front of my face so that I could see how I looked. I now had vivid green eyes instead of the normal cyan eyes I usually had and my eyeliner and horns were gone with only my limiter headband on my head. I took the mirror and looked at myself in disbelief and amazement.

"You did it. You actually did it," I said, admiring myself. But the moment was short-lived, because my horns slowly came back in and my eyes reverted back to normal. I looked back up at Rhea with a sad and confused look.

"This was only your first transformation. You will be able to transform back and forth more often but only with more practice. It took Hiro a few hours to fully master and it might take some effort with you as well," Rhea said, putting a hand on my shoulder. I nodded in approval and gave her a smile. Someone suddenly pounded on the door and it opened to reveal Amki standing in the doorway.

"Does the intercom not work in here or did you two just tone it out?! Celeste needs us on the bridge now!" she said before walking off.

**Max's perspective**

All ten of us stood around the holographic table on the bridge as Celeste pulled up holograms of a space station and news articles about some kind of terrorist attack.

"I've called you all here because Rhonda has found us a lead about the Overlord. Back in the year of 2016, there was an attack on a town square on the planet of Roanark. Many were killed, several more were injured, and thousands were shaken to the core. However, Rhonda learned from Dolarhyde that one of the terrorists survived and was sent to a supermax prison. And apparently he knows how to defeat the Overlord," she said.

"And how do we know that he's there?" Nikki asked.

"Because there's only one place where the worst of the worst space criminals are sent: The Phantom Supermax Facility," Rhonda said.

"Phantom what-now?" Hiro asked. Celeste enlarged the picture of the space station in response to his question.

"The Phantom Facility is a prison located within an asteroid field. It holds some of the most dangerous and feared criminals that the galaxy has to offer. Some of the ones that I've captured were put here. If the acolyte is here, he may information that we need," she said.

"So, we just schedule an appointment and we just go in and talk to him?" Nikki asked.

"I wish that it were that simple. But the Phantom Facility has no inmate communication systems and most of the criminals there have no families, which means that we will have to pose as prisoners ourselves and locate the acolyte in order to get the information."

"Uh, not to be that person, but doesn't that sound a bit dangerous. I mean, you LITERALLY said that this place has the worst of the worst," Odango said.

"We've fought Infernites, brainwashed soldiers, and alien cowboys. We can handle alien prisoners, Odango," I said.

"In either case, Odango will stay with the ship while the rest of us locate the acolyte. We will enter through the trash compactor area and work our way into the prison. From there, we will follow the prisoner guidelines until we have recovered the information and we will meet back at the extraction point. An easy in and out if this goes right. So let's get suited up and get going," Celeste said. We all headed to the fabrication room where the clothes for the mission were orange jumpsuits with prison numbers on them. Amki, Eva, and Rhonda grabbed their jumpsuits and left the room to put them on while the rest of us stayed and put ours on.

"Well, glad to see that orange is the universal color for prisoner outfits," Nikki said sarcastically as she put her jumpsuit on.

"It's only for this mission, Nikki," Celeste said. Zero Two just looked at her suit in disgust.

"I'm not wearing this," she said.

"Why not?" Hiro asked as he zipped up his suit. Zero Two held out her suit for him to inspect.

"Darling, look at this thing. I'd look like a traffic cone with this on!"

"They don't really care about fashion statements in prison, Zero Two," I said. Celeste then came over to me and attached a small device to my neck which turned my skin a mottled green with black stripes on my arms and my fingers looked like they were webbed. She then attached a similar device to Nikki's neck which turned her skin blue.

"Uh, what is this all about?" Nikki asked, looking at her hands.

"If the guards at the prison see you as humans, they'll suspect that we're not actual prisoners. This is just to hide your identities until our mission is finished," Celeste said.

"But I thought that they didn't pay any attention to humans," I said, inspecting myself.

"That's usually true of most species, but it's illegal for humans to be sent to any sort of intergalactic prison."

"Guess you and Hiro should be glad that you're both half-human, huh?" Nikki asked Zero Two, who had put on her jumpsuit. She had a completely disgusted look on her face and it didn't help that we were giving her awkward smiles. Before long, we had reached the prison and snuck in through the trash compactor area, which smelled surprisingly clean despite the fact that it was where all the trash was stored. Odango stayed behind with the Centurion while we headed straight for the holding cells. Everything was objectifiably quiet even as we made our way past some of the cells with actual prisoners in them. Some of them looked overly bulky and terrifying, others looked seductive yet deadly and some were interacting with each other like they were friends while others didn't look like they were getting along very well. We finally got to an empty cell and quietly snuck in, even though Amki had a bit of trouble getting through the hole that we crawled through. After we settled in, Celeste pulled up a small map of the entire facility.

"Right now, we are at the main holding area. This is where most of the prisoners are held and where they spend their free time. Finding our target here may be a bit difficult, but it's very likely that we'll find him here. There's also a gym and a library which are also good places to look for him. But our time will be limited. Based on our current time frame, in about two minutes, everyone will leave for the mess hall for lunch. After that comes the men's shower time. During that time, the rest of us will use that time to try and gather information about where the acolyte is being held. When the time comes for the woman's shower time, both Max and Hiro will head to where he's being held and learn what we can in order to defeat the Overlord. After we have acquired said information, we will meet back here and wait until the entire facility is asleep and escape," she said.

"What happens if we miss that window?" Hiro asked.

"We sit and wait for the next shift. Truth be told, this mission shouldn't be that hard nor should it take that long. It's just a matter of us staying out of trouble in a hostile environment like this."

"I mean, you have me to help protect you. I've been in and out of prison several times, so I know my way around a place like this," Amki said. An alarm suddenly went off and the door to the cell opened. Some of the other prisoners were already walking in a straight line while being directed by some guards wearing some black armor. We walked out along with the rest of the crowd and followed them all the way to the mess hall. We then got in line for what was on the menu today: tentacles. Yeah, TENTACLES. They were purple and slimy and were served alongside some kind of green gelatin and a bubbly drink. When we sat down, Zero Two poked the tentacles she had on her tray in disgust while Hiro sliced off a piece before gagging as he ate it.

"Words CANNOT describe how revolting this is," Zero Two said, poking the tentacles some more.

"It's true that prison food is not the normal cuisine outside of these walls, but it's all that they have in here. It's also highly nutritious for them," Eva said.

"Yeah, but… doesn't this stuff seem extremely lethal to eat?" Nikki asked as one of the tentacles she had grappled onto the side of the table and dragged itself off of the tray, only for Rhonda to stab it with her fork.

"Only if it's attached to the brain," Rhonda said. Zero Two just ate the gelatin next to the tentacles and seemed to be content with how that tasted rather than the tentacles. But one of the tentacles launched from her tray and grabbed her by the arm, struggling to overpower her until Celeste cut it in half and it fell to the table and squirmed a bit before it stopped completely.

"Darling. Let's do ourselves a favor and NEVER visit a prison ever again," Zero Two said.

"I hear you," Hiro said as he ate his tentacle, clearly not enjoying it. Amki, on the other hand, was LOVING her tentacles as she ate them up and one of the tentacles wrapped around her nose. She nosily slurped it down and shoved the rest of it into her mouth, making us look at her in confusion and disgust.

"What? I told you that I've been in jail before. You get used to this kind of food when you've been in here as long as I have," Amki said as she continued to wolf down her food. As the rest of us ate, I took a moment to look around the mess hall. Every prisoner sitting with others were interacting with one another but they weren't acting out of line too much. I think that it had to do with the fact that the guards were patrolling the area, periodically checking on the inmates as they walked past them. But as I continued to look around, I saw one alien sitting at a table by herself. She had grey skin with bright green hair and silver eyes with black sclerae. But what intrigued me the most was that she didn't have a mouth and on her tray were some kind of batteries. She grabbed two of them and her hands briefly lit up with electricity before she set them down and picked up two more of them, doing the same thing. I looked around some more and saw another girl sitting at a table all by herself, but this one had more reddish skin with red-orange hair and yellow eyes. Her jumpsuit was torn at the shoulders and she had tattoos of flames on her upper arms. But it looked like she was aware of me and was giving me a stare of pure anger, with her eyes flaring up a bit and her mouth exhaling a bit of fire. She then got up and exited the mess hall.

"Max, is everything alright?" Celeste asked me.

"Yeah, it's just that girl over there was giving me the evil eye," I said, pointing to the fire girl.

"Most of th' inmates here will do that to ya until we leave here. So just get used to it for now," Rhonda replied. One of the guards suddenly started banging on the wall, drawing the attention of everyone in the mess hall.

"Listen up! Men's shower time will begin in five minute! All male inmates present must either finish eating or dump your food into the trash before you leave!" the guard said. After he said that, everyone went back to eating their food and after five minutes, me, Hiro, and all the other male inmates went straight to the showers. And these showers were HUGE. I mean, I have seen prison showers in movies, but never in real life. Each of the inmates took turns sharing the water and the soap as they hosed themselves down. Hiro and I showered away from everyone else to try and not draw attention to ourselves.

"So… you ever been to prison?" Hiro asked as I scrubbed myself off.

"Never. Then again, I never really wanted to end up in a place like this in the first place. If I did, I would never come out as the same man who went in," I said, handing him the soap.

"I mean, it doesn't look that bad in this place. Everyone's well-behaved and… that's about it, actually."

"I think that it's because of the guards. They're supposed to keep the inmates in line and prevent them from causing any chaos."

"So, I heard that Rhea helped you to be able to shapeshift. How did it feel, being human again?"

"A little weird. But what's even weirder is that Rhea actually able to rewrite DNA. I mean, what kind of alien species is even able to do that?"

"Who knows? But it is good that she's using that power to help people."

"All right, you two. You're time's up. Dry yourselves off, put your uniforms back on and head back to your cells," one of the guards said. Me and Hiro left the shower and put our jumpsuits back on before heading back out into the hallway. But before either of us could react, someone grabbed Hiro by the throat and forced him up against the wall. It was the red-skinned alien from before.

"Is there… something we can… help you with?" Hiro asked as the alien tightened her grip.

"There actually is, you waste of flesh. Your friend, where is she?" the alien hissed.

"What friend?" I replied.

"The Tendricite! That cold-blooded 'hero' who claims that she's doing good for this universe!"

"I seriously don't know what you're talking about," Hiro implied. The alien just gave him a look of anger before her free hand burst into flames and she tried to punch him. But before she could, I grabbed her by the arm and tossed her away from Hiro. The alien stood back up and stared at me again with her eyes slightly on fire.

"Look, I don't know what you have against this so-called Tendricite, but whatever it is, it's probably not worth it," I said.

"Believe me… it is. She put me in this prison to rot while both her kind and my own believe her lies of giving them freedom. But I am a true advocate of truth and freedom and I will expose her for the liar that she is!" the alien said before she rushed at us again with her fists on fire. I easily dodged out of the way and she instead hit the wall, but I accidently bumped into someone behind me. I half expected it to be a large brute-like alien with an intimidating look, but when I looked back, I saw that it was the grey-skinned alien from before, looking at me with sincere, glowing eyes. The fire alien got back to her feet and threw a fireball at me, making me dodge again while grabbing the grey alien to try and protect her.

"OK, look! I don't know what you want us to tell you, but trying to kill us is not a good idea!" Hiro said as he dodged another fireball

"You don't know her like I do! She doesn't trust anyone. She always has a reason to hate someone that she doesn't know. And trust me… she'll turn on you the first moment she gets!" the female alien replied.

"Look, in all honesty lady, you're crazy," I said. The fire alien's eyes burned with intense hatred as her arms burst into flames and the heat became so intense that I could feel it from where I was. Suddenly, the grey alien stood in front of me and threw a ball of electricity which knocked the fire alien to the ground. As she stood back up, a couple of guards came running down the hallway and grabbed her by the arms, dragging her away as she panted in defeat. Two more guards came to help Hiro up and the grey alien gave me a hug for some strange reason.

"Uh, you're welcome?" I said. The alien just looked up at me with what I could only assume was a smiling look before breaking away from the hug.

"You OK? We should've been keeping a better eye around here," one of the guards asked. I just nodded in response.

"I think we'll be OK now," Hiro said.

"Well, you should be getting back to your cells now. We'll handle the rest from here," the second guard said. Hiro and I started to walk away but I felt the grey alien grab my arm and gently tugged on it.

"Uh, could you let go now?" I said. But the alien just tugged some more. One of the guards walked over to her and motioned for her to come with them.

"Prisoner E-01, it's time to head back to your cell now," the guard said. But the alien just hugged my arm tighter. I honestly didn't know what the alien found enticing about me. All I did was protect her from a pissed off alien who was trying to kill us. But I didn't have time to think about it because the second guard put his hand on my shoulder and started to lead me away with the female alien.

"Sorry, pal. If she wants to stay with you, then you'll have to report back to her cell with her," he said.

"Hey, wait, I can vouch for him! We know nothing about-!" Hiro tried to protest.

"It's OK, Hiro. I'll be fine," I said, holding my hand out to stop him. The guards then lead me and the female alien all the way to a dark hallway with a bunch of doors that were sealed tight. Each of them had a small window in each of them but I couldn't see into any of them. But I could hear them banging on the door, yelling and screaming to get out. I don't know what kind of psychological torture these prisoners were going through but I had a feeling that I had stumbled onto something horrendous. We finally stopped in front of one of the doors, which the guard opened, and me and the female alien stepped inside. It actually looked like any of the other cells in the main area, complete with a double bed up against the wall and a small bookshelf full of books. When we entered the cell, the female alien immediately began to skip and prance around the room like she was happy to be here with me even though I found the atmosphere to be a bit unnerving.

"Hey. Word of advice: be careful around her. Her shocks can get a bit unpredictable," one of the guards said to me before he closed the door behind him. I was now alone with this alien I didn't know in a galactic prison for the criminally insane and I had ZERO leads on the Overlord's acolyte. But I couldn't think about that right now because the female alien grabbed me by the arm and brought me over to a wall with a bright green button on it. Before I could ask anything, she pressed the button and the center of the room opened up to reveal a large aquarium beneath us. It was teeming with a bunch of alien-like fish of different colors that were swimming all around.

"They're beautiful," I said, bending over to get a better look. All of a sudden, the alien shoved me from behind and I fell into the aquarium water amongst all the fish. Some of the fish scattered and swam away when I fell in, but I didn't see that any of them had sharp teeth, so I started to swim back up to the surface. I heard another splash and saw the alien swimming down towards me with the top part of her suit missing, which was exposing her bare chest. As I was coming up, she grabbed me and gently hugged me, rubbing her face against mine. Her skin felt a bit slimy, but it also felt soft and a bit warm and the feeling of her bare chest against me felt weirdly enthralling. So enthralling that I completely forgot that I was still underwater and my oxygen was running out. I immediately pushed the alien off of me and burst out of the water, coughing up water and gasping heavily for air. As I was trying to catch my breath, the female alien emerged out of the water and gently tapped my neck, as if she was trying to tell me something.

"What? What is it?" I asked her. I suddenly noticed my reflection in the water had gills on its neck.

"Oh, that. I don't really have gills. I'm actually human," I said. The alien just tilted her head a bit in confusion. I tried to explain it a bit further to her, but I suddenly felt something REALLY cold crawling up my back. I slowly turned my head and saw some kind of blue slime sliding down my arm which began dripping to the floor. And to make matters worse, it had EYES. I swung my arm to get it off and the slime hit the wall before slowly descending to the floor. The slime popped its eyes back up and then slowly took the form of a humanoid girl and walked back over to me. As she stared up at me with her blue eyes, her mouth formed a smile and she hugged me.

"Goo?" it said, breaking away from the hug. I just stared at it in confusion and put my hand on her face. While she did feel cold and slimy, it also felt smooth and soft.

"Have you two been living here together?" I asked. The female alien nodded sadly and stared down at the floor. I smiled and gently nudged her to look up at me before I patted her on the head.

"Why would anyone as cute as you be in a place like this?" I asked. The alien then pressed her nose against mine, giving me an Eskimo kiss and looking up at me with a happy look. I just gave her a smile

"Well, why don't we find a way out of here together?" I asked. The alien suddenly glomped me to the floor and the slime followed suit. Their boobs squished up against my face as they happily embraced me until they got up.

"So, what do I call you?" I asked the alien. She grabbed the top part of her suit and pointed to the number on it.

"E-01? Nah. I'd like to call you something other than just a prison number. How about… Eila?" I asked. The alien excitedly nodded.

"Eila it is then. How about you?" I asked the slime.

"Goo!" the slime exclaimed.

"Alright then, you two. Let's see if we can find a way out," I said.

**Nikki's perspective**

"Where are they?" I asked looking out across the prison's center room.

"They probably got held up. Just relax, Nikki," Celeste said. All of us were waiting on Hiro and Max to get back so we just had to keep ourselves occupied for the time being. Rhea was helping Zero Two to try and master her human form, Rhonda was playing digital cards with Eva, and Amki was just lying on the bed.

"You never know. One of them might've dropped the soap," Amki said, making me shiver.

"Stop it," Celeste replied. I saw Zero Two transform into a human and slowly open her eyes. When nothing happened, she gave Rhea a big smile.

"Congratulations, Zero Two. You can now shapeshift between your normal form and human form at will," Rhea said. Zero Two concentrated again and her horns slowly came back.

"Well, I do have you to thank," Zero Two replied, earning a smile from Rhea.

"OK, I'm getting worried now. Should we go look for them?" I asked. As if to answer, Hiro suddenly came running into the room and closed the cell door behind him.

"Guys, we have a problem!" he said, panting.

"You guys dropped the soap, didn't you?" Amki said.

"What? NO!"

"Hiro, what happened? Where's Max?!" I asked.

"We got attacked… by a fire alien and the guards took Max somewhere with another alien," Hiro explained.

"Is he OK?!"

"He should be fine. Let me see if I can reach him. Max, are you there?" Celeste said into her comms. I turned on my own so I could hear.

"Yeah, I'm here," Max replied. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good. You gave us all a fright. What's your position now?"

"I have no idea. All I know is that some of the prisoners seemed to have been isolated from the rest and I'm in a cell with one of them right now."

"What does it look like?" I asked.

"Female. Grey skin, green hair, silver eyes, no mouth. Can control electricity for some reason," Max replied.

"Sounds like an Ecorian," Eva said.

"An Ecorian?"

"Actually, what you just described sounds like a subspecies of Ecorian. Ecorians mostly have the ability to emit an ear-piercing scream that can shatter rocks, but there have been recent findings of a subspecies that possesses a mutation that allow them to control and emit electricity. But, as a result, they must feed on it regularly."

"Are they dangerous?" I asked.

"Not usually. It's possible that she was arrested because she was siphoning off a power grid to satiate her hunger," Celeste said.

"I mean she's very friendly. Maybe a bit too- HEY! Stop that!" Max yelled.

"What?" I asked.

"Sorry. Eila was poking at my communicator."

"Eila?" Zero Two asked.

"I named her that. I thought it sounded cute," Max said.

"Max, I need you to focus right now. Can you try and find a way out?" Celeste said.

"Eila, Goo, and I are working on that right now, but it looks like this place is sealed tight."

"Goo?" I asked.

"She's a slime," Max replied.

"Yuck."

"MAX. What do you see in the cell?" Celeste said, getting impatient.

"Well, Eila has an aquarium in the floor. There's a window looking outside. There's a small bookshelf full of books. Other than that, I don't see much else."

"Wait. Did you just say a shelf full of books? What kind of books?" Rhea asked.

"Um… it looks like books talking about arcane magic and stuff like that. Why?" Max asked.

"I think that cell might've belonged to the acolyte that we were looking for. See if you can find any information on the Overlord and how to defeat him."

"I'll do that. I'll radio you back if I find anything."

"We should be getting ready. We'll be heading to the women's shower in about two minutes," Celeste said.

"Hey, Celeste. Would you happen to know a fire alien with reddish skin, orange hair and fire tattoos on her upper arms?" Max asked. Celeste just sighed and rubbed her eyes in disappointment.

"Sadly, yes. Her name is Ember. She's a Pyronite from the planet of Prometheus and one of my worst enemies."

"Why does she hate you?" Hiro asked.

"The Tendricites and Pyronites were at war with each other for a very long time. After we had finally made peace with each other, there were still those who believed that neither side could be trusted and created extremist groups in order to disrupt that peace. Ember was the leader of one of those groups. After about five months of her madness, I finally caught her and the court sentenced her to two years in the Phantom Facility. She's hated me ever since," Celeste explained.

"And now we're in this prison with her?" I asked.

"Unfortunately, yes. But we shouldn't be worrying about that right now. Right now we be focusing on our mission. And right now we should be heading for the women's showers. Let's get going," Celeste said. Before too long, me and the rest of the girls headed for the showers, along with a whole bunch of other female inmates.

"Hey, I have a question. Why did you ask if they dropped the soap, Amki?" Zero Two asked.

"It's a prison thing. And it's too embarrassing to talk about," Rhonda replied.

"I mean, we shouldn't have anything to worry about. It only happens among male prisoners, so we should be fine," I said.

"You're kidding, right?" Amki said.

"What?"

"You know that some alien species are hermaphroditic, right? We're not save if we drop the soap either way!"

"Just stay close and we'll be just fine," Celeste said as we entered the shower's locker room. After we had stripped down and grabbed our towels, we headed into the main shower area. Sure enough, just as Amki had said, some of the aliens in that shower were hermaphrodites. I felt a bit nervous as we moved past them and made our way to some of the shower heads that weren't being used. As I turned on the water and scrubbed myself down, Zero Two took a look around.

"Don't these prisons believe in any privacy?" she asked as she lathered herself up.

"Well, there aren't any guards in here, so that should say something," I said.

"The guards here are trained to respect the inmates and treat them nicely in the hopes that their behavior will help them to change their ways so the inmates can be reinvigorated back into society. It has proven to be very effective from what I've heard," Celeste said.

"I'll bet you wish that Max was here with you right now," Zero Two said to me, making me blush.

"W-what are you talking about?" I said as I continued to wash myself down.

"You've made love in the shower before, right? I bet that you wish he was here doing it with you now."

"OK, look! What happens between me and him is none of your business, OK?!" I said. But I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing and I accidentally dropped the soap. The ONE THING that I feared that I was going to do finally happened. I fearfully looked up and took a look around. Not a whole lot of the inmates noticed that I had dropped it, but a few did. And one or two of them were hermaphrodites. I swallowed hard. There was no way out of this. If I bent down, I was gonna get taken to pound town in a bad way and it would probably be right here in front of my friends. But it had to be done. However, as I prepared to bend down and get the soap, Zero Two kicked it towards the wall, it ricocheted off and bounced off of the ceiling and straight into her hand. She then handed the soap to me and gave me a smile before going back to showering herself off, leaving me completely dumbfounded and amazed. After about a few minutes, I headed back into the locker room and started to put my suit back on. But as I was doing that, a muscular hand gently grabbed my shoulder. I thought at first that it was Amki, but it was actually a buff, teal-skinned female alien. That may not sound so bad, except I could see an abnormally large bulge in her pants.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry, sweetheart?" the alien asked, pinning me against the lockers.

"Uh, back to my cell. Figured that… I didn't need to be here any longer," I said. The alien just moved in closer, rubbing her boobs up against me. The bulge in her pants was inches away from my lower half.

"See something you like?"

"N-no! It's just that you're… REALLY close to me right now and it's.. kind of uncomfortable."

"Don't try to hide it, baby. It's all lonely here in this hell hole. I'll bet that you haven't gotten any ever since you've been here. I promise that I'll be gentle," the alien said softly. She forcefully grabbed my breast and began to fondle it a bit. Her face began to slowly inch towards mine until someone tapped her on the shoulder. It was Zero Two.

"Hey! Quit pickin' on my girlfriend!" she said, pushing the alien aside. She then set her arm on the wall beside my head and then she straight up KISSED me full on the lips. There was no warning at all and she caught me totally off-guard. The alien just gave us a confused look as Zero Two broke away from the kiss and put her arm around me, groping my breast and giving the alien a smug smile. But the alien just gave a smug smile in return.

"Oh, I see. You were just keepin' her a secret from me, huh? Well, truth be told, I don't mind having more than one partner who's lookin' for a good time," she said.

"Well, I saw her first, so that means I get dibs on her," Zero Two replied as she continued to squeeze my boob. I could kinda tell that she was trying to just protect me.

"Y-yeah. You know it… babe," I said, trying to play along. It didn't work because the alien started to inch in on the two of us.

"Well, either way, I don't mind sharing," the alien said, licking her lips. But when she got within arms' reach of us, another muscular arm wrapped around the alien's neck. It was Amki, who looked extremely pissed off.

"Who do you think you are treating my friends like this?" she asked. The alien just looked up at her fear and began to sweat profusely.

"N-n-no reason. I was just trying to be friendly was all. I wasn't gonna hurt them, I swear!"

"Get lost," Amki said, releasing the alien, who left immediately. Celeste and the rest of the group walked up to us as the alien ran out the door.

"What happened?" Celeste asked.

"Just another sexual harasser. Nothing interesting," Amki said, stretching a bit. After the rest of the group got their jumpsuits back on, we started making our way back to our cell.

"Hey, look. I'm sorry if I made that a bit too awkward for you back there. I figured that she would leave if I posed as your girlfriend," Zero Two said.

"It's fine. Thanks for protecting me," I replied with a smile.

"That's what friends are for."

**Selene's perspective, Overlord's ship**

I was seated inside my quarters, trying to concentrate. I was always trying to fight against the constant nightmares that always plagued me from the day me and my brother were found by the Overlord. He always said that the nightmares would go away with time but as the time went on, the nightmares only got worse. I trusted the Overlord, I really did. But I felt that he wasn't telling me everything that he knew. All of a sudden, the tracking transponder went off. I picked it up and walked out of my room towards the Overlord's throne room. On the way, however, Philip stopped me.

"Where are you off to in a hurry?" he asked me.

"I've located them again. I'm on my way to inform the Overlord now," I said.

"Why do we need to tell him? We could just go and get them ourselves."

"That's not the point, Philip. The Overlord has the only thing that can extract the Infernite energy. If we went by ourselves, it would be complete suicide."

"So… are we gonna talk about this thing between us?" Philip asked as we continued to make our way to the bridge.

"There's nothing between us," I said.

"Sure there is. You can't ignore the chemistry between us. You can practically feel the electricity in the air."

"That's just the thing, Philip. It's your hatred of the human and his lover that makes you unapproachable. I don't know what it was that made you resent him that much, but if you continue with this anger, it will cause you to do something reckless," I said. After we had entered the bridge, I kneeled before the Overlord.

"Selene. You have news of their location?" he said.

"I do, my lord. It appears that they are inside the Phantom Facility," I said.

"What's that?" Philip asked.

"It's a supermax prison for the worst kind of galactic criminals," Zekxsie said, walking over to us.

"OK, and what exactly would they be doing there?"

"Possibly looking for information," I said.

"Whatever the case, we must make our way to the prison and destroy any resistance that gets in our way," the Overlord replied.

"My lord… you're not suggesting that we destroy the prison and everyone inside it… are you?"

"We have been delayed for too long. We will not harm Maxwell or the girl, but everyone else is irrelevant to our mission," Yoon said. The Overlord nodded in approval and stared out into the void of space.

"All due respect, my lord, but I agree with Selene on this one. That prison is best known for its programs that try to help get the prisoners back into society," Zekxsie said. The Overlord looked back at us and then looked back out into the void.

"Very well, then. We will kill only those who stand in our way. No one else will die. But do not forget what we are fighting for. Now let us make our way through the stars. Our victory awaits," he replied.

**Max's perspective, The Phantom Facility**

I had to hand it to the acolyte, he sure did love to read a lot. I had gone through at least 10 different books, page by page, but none of them had anything of interest nor did they have any information on how to stop the Overlord. Goo was busy sleeping while Eila was looking through the books I had already searched.

"You enjoying reading those?" I asked. Eila looked up and nodded before going back to reading. Sure, she wasn't able to talk, but her facial expressions spoke in volumes. Which was more than I could say about the books in the shelf. I rubbed my head in disappointment as I continued to flip through the pages and then put the book in the pile.

"I wish I could say the same. God, I wish that this guy would at least have SOME kind of info about the Overlord!" I said. But as I pulled out the next book, some kind of disk fell out and clattered to the floor. I picked the disk up and carefully inspected it. It looked like it was some kind of communicator except that it didn't seem to have any charge to it.

"Eila, can you give this a light shock for me?" I asked. Eila put her finger against the device and a small bit of electricity jolted from her to the device, which slowly whirred to life. The center of the disc lit up and a hologram popped up. The hologram was a rectangle with a list of what appeared to be voice logs. I tapped the first one on the list and it began to play.

"Day 1: I have been imprisoned for something that I have no recollection of. All I remember is that I was visited by a mysterious robed figure who spoke of a quest. A quest to save this universe from impending doom. After that, I have no idea what happened. All I remember was that I passed out and I ended up in this prison," a voice on the voice log said. I had no doubt that it was the acolyte, but it sounded like he didn't know anything. I just went ahead and played the next recording.

"Day 4: I now know what it was that I did. Apparently me and a whole group of my kind attacked a whole crowd of innocents on the planet of Roanark. We were within a town square and several of us committed suicide by bombs in order to be heard. I don't know what it was that enticed us to sacrifice ourselves in such a way, but what I do know is that I was the only one left. I did not even try to deny that it wasn't me. The recording they had was convincing enough. I have also learned that the being I worked for has called himself the 'Overlord'. What his motivation is, he has never told me," the recording said. I was completely confused at that statement. If the guy was responsible for the death of thousands, how could he not remember it? I went on to the next recording and pressed play.

"Day 25: I can hear them. The voices are calling to me. They demand compensation for the sin that I committed and they want me to pay with death. MY death. I don't know what it is that the Overlord did to me, but it is severely compromising my thinking. I might not be able to resist for much longer. However, I am glad that my family is not here to witness the sin I committed. They would be very ashamed of me. I have also searched some more of my memories and I remember that the Overlord was in search of an artifact called the 'Crucible'. It was said to be a weapon of immeasurable power. If he gets his hands on it, there's no way to stop him," the recording said. I felt my heart sink after the recording finished. If there was no way for us to stop him, then I would be on the run forever. I had the only thing that he needed to take over the entire universe and if there was no other way to get rid of it beside the Crucible, then how much longer would we be able to last? I swiped through the rest of the recordings, but when I reached the bottom of the list, one of the recordings read 'IMPORTANT'. I immediately pressed the play button on it.

"To anyone who has found this recording: It is now Day 50 and I can no longer hold myself back. Death is the only escape for me to be free of the Overlord's grasp. But, I believe that there is, in fact, a way to stop the Overlord, should he get his hands on the Crucible. I have reason to believe that the Magistrus clan of the planet Obraxis foretold that a day like this would come. There has been mention in their sacred texts that there is an artifact that is able to counter and destroy the power of the Crucible. But where it is hidden, I am unable to read exactly where that is. I believe that a Magistrus should be able to decipher the code and find this artifact. In the bookshelf is a book with a bold blue cover that bears the crest of the Magistrus clan. If you are able to find one who can translate the texts, there might be hope for the universe. My time might be over, but I have faith that you can stop this evil. I wish you the best of luck," the recording said. I went back over to the shelf and found the book of the Magistrus clan. Sure enough, it did have text in a language I didn't understand, but this was it. Rhea could decipher it and we could finally put a stop to all this.

"Celeste, I think I found what we were looking for," I said into my comms with a smile. But, there was no answer. Just static.

"Celeste, are you there?" I said again. There was still no answer.

"Goo! Goo!" Goo suddenly said, clinging to the window. I walked over to her to see what all the commotion was about, but when I looked out the window, my heart nearly stopped. Coming out of the asteroid belt was a giant warship with runes along the sides. It was the Overlord's ship. The ship fired a bunch of torpedoes into the side of the prison, the explosions shaking it to the core, and an alarm started to sound. Goo and Eila clung to me in fear as the Overlord's ship fired harpoons into the side of the station. I knew it was only a matter of time before the Overlord and his minions would be combing the entire prison for us. And I wasn't planning on sticking around for that.

"Time to go," I said, sticking the book inside of my suit. I ran over to the door and pried it open. The hallway was filled with panicking prisoners and guards trying to calm everyone down. Some of the prisoners were beating up other prisoners or even the guards to try and get out alive. I took Eila by the hand and we ran throughout the corridor to try and find the main holding area I was just hoping that the others were OK.

**Celeste's perspective**

"What the hell's going on?" Nikki yelled, trying to talk over the alarm that was blaring.

"The entire prison complex is under attack. They're trying to evacuate the facility," I said.

"I guess that means we need to leave?" Rhonda asked.

"I'm afraid so. Hopefully Max found what we needed. The only problem now is finding out where he is and getting him out."

"And how the hell do we do that?! He could be anywhere by now!" Amki replied.

"Nikki, take Hiro, Zero Two, and Rhea with you. The rest of us will head to the ship and grab our equipment. If you manage to find Max, get back to the ship and we can get out of here," I said.

"OK. Be careful, alright?" Nikki said.

"We will. Now, GO!" I said. Me, Amki, Eva, and Rhonda made our way through the prison, taking out any prisoners who tried to fight us. When we finally got to the trash compactor area, I noticed that the ship's cargo door was open. I immediately stopped the others in their tracks.

"What is it?" Eva asked.

"That door shouldn't be open," I said, cautiously advancing towards the ship. Sure enough, a large fireball flew out of the ship and hit Amki in the face, knocking her back. As Eva went to go help her, someone walked out of the ship, clutching the burnt robotic body of Odango. That someone was Ember, the Pyronite that Max had mentioned earlier. My own worst enemy. Ember threw Odango's body at our feet and slowly walked out of the ship, her hands burning with intensity.

"Miss me, Tendricite?" Ember asked, her mouth exhaling flames. I just stared at her in anger.

"Rhonda, help Odango. This one is mine," I said. As Rhonda went to help Odango and Eva, Ember ran toward me at full force, her arms being set ablaze. I was able to dodge in time and land a kick on the back of her head. Ember got back to her feet as quickly as she got knocked down and tried in vain to hit me, only to get knocked back down again.

"I always dreamed of this moment. The day when I finally get to kill you for all the pain you've wrought!" Ember said, throwing a fireball at me.

"You might want to keep dreaming. Today is not that day."

"You were the one who put me in this hell hole! All these years of torture, you were still out there doing your so-called 'good work' while I was rotting away in here!"

"It was either prison or death. You didn't deserve death because of false beliefs that our people had," I replied.

"I would rather be dead than have to live one more second knowing that you're still alive! And you won't be alive for much longer!" Ember said, throwing more fireballs at me. As we continued to fight, her hair began to flare up which began to leak fire all over the place. Some of the flames almost hit Amki and the others, but they were able to get out of the way in time.

"Ember, please. There is much more at stake here than you realize. There is an enemy much stronger than anything that I've encountered and he threatens to destroy everything that this universe holds. But if you help us, I will reduce your sentence, I promise!" I said. But Ember continued to attack, lighting her arms ablaze again and wildly flailed at me in her anger. I tried my best to counter her attacks, but she finally managed to knock me to the ground and punch me in the face, making my mouth bleed a little.

"You have nothing that I want. The only thing that you can give me… is your death," Ember said, standing over me. She then set her fist ablaze, preparing to end my life. But before she could bring her fist down, Amki came up from behind and punched her square in the face, knocking her unconscious. Amki rubbed her face in pain as she helped me to my feet.

"Uh… don't tell anybody about this, OK?" she said, rubbing her head. I just smiled and chuckled a bit.

"Thank you, Amki," I said.

**3****rd**** person perspective**

Nikki and the others continued to search the prison for any signs of Max. Parts of the ceiling were falling down all around them and some of the guards were trying to round up the rest of the inmates.

"This place is really coming down!" Hiro said, trying to avoid the falling debris.

"I know, but Max should be here somewhere! Keep looking!" Nikki said. As they continued to move throughout the prison, they came into the main cell area which had a large wall of debris in the middle of the room.

"That looks like a problem," Zero Two said.

"Dammit, no! Max has got to be on the other side of this! Does anyone see a way around this?" Nikki said, trying to remove some of the debris. But it was too heavy to remove by hand.

"I don't believe that there's any way to remove this. We may need to find another way around," Rhea said. As they started to look around for another way through the debris, Hiro found a dead guard with two gauntlets. Hiro walked over to the guard and took the gauntlets off of the guard before putting them on his arms. The gauntlets slowly hummed to life and two blue lines running down the middle of them slowly lit up. Hiro suddenly felt more powerful, as if the gauntlets were increasing his physical strength. To test it out, he grabbed a pipe and squeezed it as hard as he could. To his surprise, the pipe crinkled like paper and twisted just as easily. Hiro immediately dropped the pipe and went back over to the debris wall, where Zero Two was trying to remove a loose bit of the wall.

"Nothing. It would take a lot of force just to break through all this," Zero Two said.

"I guess I have to do it. Step back," Hiro said, moving Zero Two away from the wall. As he prepared to punch through, a bunch of blue energy surrounded the gauntlet and right as he punched the wall, the energy created an intense blast that tore a large hole in the wall and destroyed some of the debris. Hiro and the others stood back in amazement at the large hole that was just created.

"Well, now. You never told me that you were that strong, Darling," Zero Two said, amazed. All of them suddenly heard a bit of coughing and saw Max walk out into the holding area with Eila and Goo following him. Nikki immediately ran over to him and hugged him tightly.

"Oh, thank God we found you! I thought you were trapped under all of this!" Nikki said.

"Yeah, I'm not that easy to get rid of. Where are the others?" Max asked.

"They're back at the ship. We should get going," Rhea said. But before any of them could move a muscle, one of the doors to the holding area exploded open, nearly hitting Max and Nikki. Luckily, Goo expanded her body and caught the door before it could hit anybody and do some damage. As the door fell to the ground and Goo reformed back into her normal shape, Philip and Selene walked out, with Philip cracking his knuckles with a smug grin on his face.

"Well, isn't this a lovely surprise. Fresh meat to toughen my knuckles on," he said.

"Philip, we need to take them alive. Wound, don't kill," Selene said. But Philip ran in without listening and swung his fist at Max. But he was able to dodge out of the way and punched Philip smack in the face, knocking him backwards.

"You know, Philip, I kind of figured that you'd be here. Prison's the perfect place for you," Max said.

"That might be so. But either way, you won't be leaving this place alive," Philip replied. He threw another punch at Max, this time hitting him in the face and knocking him to the ground. But before he could land another him, Zero Two grabbed a metal rod from the debris and poked Philip in the abdomen and knocked him to the floor. Before she could hit him again, Selene wrapped her whip around her neck and dragged her onto the floor. Eila then grabbed the whip and electrocuted it, which also electrocuted Selene, who then got hit by Hiro. As Selene struggled to get back to her feet, Philip put Max in a choke hold, preparing to snap his neck.

"Hey, Nik! Present for you!" Max said, reaching into his pocket and throwing her armor disc at her. The disc attached itself to her chest and after her armor formed over her entire body, she created a blaster and shot Philip in the face. As he was struggling to get back up, Zero Two continued her assault on Selene with a hit to the abdomen from the metal rod she was holding and she knocked her to the ground. Philip enragedly fired plasma shots from his hands at the floor, which greatly weakened the floor beneath Zero Two and Hiro's feet. The excess weight caused the floor to give way beneath their feet and both of them fell through to one of the lower levels.

"There! Now it's a fair fight!" Philip said. Nikki shot him with another plasma shot which knocked him back to the ground as Rhea and Max fought against Selene. After Max had pushed her away, both Max and Nikki stood shoulder-to-shoulder alongside Rhea, Eila, and Goo as Selene tried to help Philip get back on his feet.

"Rhea, go find Zero Two and Hiro! We'll handle these two," Nikki said, creating a sword.

"A-are you certain?" Rhea asked.

"Yes, we're certain. Now GO!" Max said. Rhea did as she was told and disappeared down the hole Zero Two and Hiro fell down. Both Philip and Selene stood back up and continued to fight Max and Nikki. Max was easily able to strike Philip in the chest and then crush both of his gauntlets which disabled Philip's plasma blasts and roundhouse kicked him in the face. As they fought, part of the floor behind them gave way, creating a perilous drop with a bunch of sharp debris at the bottom. Max and Philip's duel took them to the side of the drop, where Max nearly lost his footing, not paying attention. Philip was able to land an uppercut on Max, sending him over the edge. Max was luckily able to grab the edge before he fell to the bottom and Goo leapt into action and engulfed Philip's head to prevent him from sending Max to his death. Max then swung himself to a ledge below before Philip pried Goo off and threw her at a wall. Unfortunately, he failed to see that Nikki fired another plasma blast at him, which hit him smack in the face. Eila, on the other hand, was having trouble fighting Selene, who knocked her down and then turned her attention back to Nikki. Nikki created a mace to help her fight against Selene and was able to counter her whip attacks with the shield she created with her other hand. But even after she was able to knock her down again, Nikki didn't turn fast enough to see Philip's fist hit her in the face, knocking her down. Nikki's mouth became warm with blood as she stumbled back to her feet and stared at Philip in anger.

"Y'know… I figured that Max would've chosen someone who was a whole lot stronger than you," Philip taunted, a small sword extending from his arm.

"Why don't you cut the bullshit? Why do you want me dead so much?" Nikki asked, spitting blood at the floor.

"It's not just about killing you. It's about seeing Max suffer," Philip replied with a wicked grin. He then leaped into action and tried to stab Nikki, but she was able to dodge his attack and stab him through the shoulder with a sword of her own. As they continued to fight, Selene got back up and joined Philip in fighting Nikki, two against one. But as they continued to fight, their fight took them back to the edge of the pit. Selene came perilously close to the edge and she was unable to move in time for Nikki to hit her with a mace, knocking her over. Selene managed to grab the edge, but some of the metal gave way and she grabbed a stray rod poking out from the floor. She tried in vain to grab the edge with her other hand as Nikki and Philip continued to fight, but, second by second, she began to slip.

"Philip, help me!" Selene begged. But Philip completely ignored her and continued to fight Nikki in rage. Selene was unable to grab the ledge and the metal rod slipped out of the floor. Selene began to fall toward the bottom, the sharp debris at the bottom glinting from the fires surrounding the place. But, just as she fell past the floor below, a hand reached out and caught her. Selene shudderingly panted and then looked up to see who it was. To her shock and surprise, Max was the one who caught her. Max slowly pulled Selene up and rested her on the floor, panting heavily from the adrenaline.

"You're welcome. Never say that I don't give my enemies mercy," Max said as he sat against the wall. But Selene immediately lunged at him and grabbed him by the neck, pinning him up against the wall.

"WHY?! WHY WOULD YOU SAVE ME?!" Selene yelled in rage.

"Because… it's the right thing to do," Max replied. Selene immediately released Max and stood up, kneeing him in the stomach. As Max reeled in pain, Selene looked at him with disapproving eyes.

"You will regret this, human," Selene said before opening a door behind them and locking it behind her, leaving Max, who had a confused look on his face.

"Goo! Goo!" Goo said, getting Max's attention. Max immediately grabbed her and Goo lifted him back up to the first floor, where Nikki and Philip were still fighting. Max hoisted himself up and put Philip in a choke hold, preventing him from fighting Nikki any longer. Before Philip could get free, Eila shot a bolt of lightning at him and electrocuted him. Philip crumpled to the floor unconscious and Nikki embraced Max again.

"You OK?" Max asked.

"I'm fine." Nikki replied.

"We should get going now."

"What about Hiro and Zero Two?"

"I'm sure they'll be fine. Hopefully Rhea found them and they're on their way back to the ship."

"And if they haven't?" Nikki asked.

"Then we'll look for them. Let's go," Max said, grabbing Nikki by the hand before the four of them made their way back to the Centurion.

**Hiro's perspective**

I slowly stirred awake and sat up, rubbing my head in pain. I don't know how far we fell, but it wasn't very far and I was somehow still alive. But I noticed that Zero Two wasn't right beside me. But I did hear her cries of pain. I followed the cries to an open area where she was lying in a pile of rubble.

"Zero Two!" I said, running over to her. But when I took the rubble off of her, I saw what she was crying in pain about. A piece of rebar had impaled her through her right side and the wound was bleeding a bit. Zero Two slowly opened her eyes and noticed me standing there in concern.

"D-Darling?" Zero Two asked, the tears running down her soot covered face.

"Yeah, it's me. I'm here. Listen, this is gonna hurt… a lot. Just bear with me, OK?" I said, grabbing the rebar. I gave Zero Two a silent countdown with my fingers to warn her before I yanked the rebar out as fast as I could. Zero Two couldn't help but scream in pain as I threw the rebar away and I helped her up, trying to put pressure on her wound.

"It hurts…" Zero Two said as I wiped her face down.

"I know it hurts. We need to get back to the ship and I'll get you patched up, OK? You'll be OK, I promise," I said. But before either of us could take another step, we heard a loud banging coming from the wall behind us. Without any warning, a red glowing blade sliced through the wall and something blasted through, sending debris and smoke flying past us. And then, coming out of the smoke, we saw him. The Overlord, in all his might and scariness, just as Max had described him. He was holding the Crucible in hand, its red blade glowing intensely as he stared us down.

"What sort of terrible fate has lead you to this moment?" the Overlord asked us. I didn't answer and just stood in front on Zero Two, powering up my gauntlets.

"Stay behind me," I said. But Zero Two immediately grabbed a rebar and shoved me aside, running at the Overlord and yelling. But the Overlord just swatted her away with his free hand, barely even fazed at Zero Two's attempt to put him down. The Overlord looked back at me with his red glaring eyes, as if he was trying to study me. Then, unexpectedly, the Crucible's blade retracted and the Overlord sheathed it.

"You would be wise to surrender," he said.

"Yeah, maybe," I replied before I ran in and tried to fight him. But the Overlord simply blocked each of my punches without much effort until he grabbed both of my hands with just one of his own, leaving me completely powerless.

"You may look human and fight like one, but you are not of Earth nor are you of this universe. What exactly are you?" the Overlord asked.

"I have nothing to say to you," I replied. Zero Two then attacked the Overlord from behind and tried to choke him with the rebar she had in her hands. But the Overlord released me and snapped the rebar in half before grabbing her by the neck. Zero Two wildly flailed and punched him in the face, trying to get free, but her attacks didn't faze or even bother the Overlord.

"Let go of me, you damn monster!" Zero Two said, continuing her relentless assault.

"You have much fight in you. I respect that. But even the strongest must be taught how to hone their power. Allow me to enlighten you," the Overlord said before red electricity sparked from his hand and electrocuted her. Zero Two screamed in pain until her entire body went limp and she fell unconscious. The Overlord then threw her body at me and she laid there, not moving. I went over to her body and tried to wake her up as the Overlord walked towards us.

"Zero Two! Come on, wake up!" I said, trying to get a response.

"She will not die. When she wakes, she will understand her true potential. But there is more to both of you than meets the eye, isn't there? I'll ask you again: Where did you come from?"

"Like I said, I have nothing to say to you," I replied, staring at him in anger. Before the Overlord could ask anything more, a sudden blast of magic hit him in the chest, knocking him back into the wall. I looked behind me and saw Rhea standing there, her hand glowing and her face showing complete anger. She walked in front of both me and Zero Two as the Overlord stood back up and stared at her.

"This universe has suffered enough at your hands!" Rhea yelled in rage.

"What I have done is given truth. I merely wish to rid this universe of evil and you wish to stop me?" the Overlord asked.

"You don't offer truth and protection! All you give is death and destruction! Look around at what you've done!"

"Some of these prisoners were irredeemable. And most of them were taken to safety. Like how I carried you to safety."

"YOU TOOK ME FROM MY FAMILY! MY HOME! AND YOU BETRAYED MY PARENTS, YOU WORTHLESS MONSTER!" Rhea yelled, using magic to grip the Overlord. The intense pressure started to strain the floor beneath him.

"And what happens when those you've trusted find out who you really are? They will abandon you and you will lose all hope that you hold dear," the Overlord replied. Rhea gritted her teeth and her hands glowed more intensely, crushing the ground beneath the Overlord, who fell through and disappeared into the flames. Rhea regained her composure and ran back over to me, putting a hand on Zero Two's head.

"She'll be alright. But we must leave now and get her back to the ship," she said. I grabbed her arm before she could leave.

"Rhea, what was he talking about?" I asked.

"Not now! We need to leave NOW!" Rhea replied. I picked up Zero Two and we ran through the fire-filled hallway. Rhea used her magic to tear holes through each wall we got to until we finally broke through into the trash compactor area. Coincidentally, Max, Nikki, Eila, and Goo had also gotten there and they immediately ran over to us.

"Thank God you guys are OK! What happened to Zero Two?" Max asked.

"We ran into the Overlord. We need to get back to the ship now!" Rhea replied. We all ran down the halls of the trash compactor until the Centurion was in sight, looking like it was preparing to take off.

"There it is! We're gonna be OK!" Nikki said. But, as if on cue, Philip appeared out of nowhere and tackled Max to the ground in a fit of rage. Max shoved him off and hit him straight in the face, which knocked him to the ground.

"For God's sake, would you just stay down, you asshole?!" Max said. But Philip didn't stay down and shoved Max up against a trash block, drawing blood from his mouth once he hit him in the face. The two of them engaged in a fistfight which nearly ended with Max losing, but Nikki leapt into action and hit Philip away with her mace. But it wasn't able to keep him off and he fought against her. It got to the point where he knocked her to the ground and a sword popped out from his wrist. I set Zero Two on the ground and wrapped my arms around Philip's neck, which gave Nikki enough time to get back up and hit him with a plasma blast from her arm cannon. But Philip threw me off and went back to attacking Nikki. This time he barely scratched the side of her face and punched her in the gut. Eila and Goo did their best to restrain him, but he lightly stabbed Eila and threw Goo at her to keep her down and Philip took a piece of debris and smashed it against Nikki's body, making her cough up a bit of blood.

"Are you that desperate?! I thought the Overlord told you not to harm me!" Nikki said. But Philip simply kneed her in the stomach and threw her towards Rhea, knocking them back toward the Centurion. I engaged him in a fistfight and was able to land a few punches on him, but he kicked me in the stomach and grabbed me by the neck.

"You think I care? You think that the Overlord's the one pulling the strings on me? He DOESN'T. I make my own decisions. I'M IN CONTROL OF ME! And I won't stop until every single one of you are dead. And trust me, I WILL DESTROY ALL OF YOU!" he replied in rage, tightening his grip on my neck. But, a slight noise from behind grabbed his attention. The source of the noise was Zero Two, who was back on her feet and holding a piece of rebar, her eyes glowing red.

"You won't kill any of us. YOU'RE ALREADY DEAD!" she yelled before taking the rebar and hitting Philip in the face, making him drop me. But when Philip struggled to get back up, Zero Two hit him again, drawing blood from his face. And she didn't even let up for a second. She continued to relentlessly beat Philip, drawing blood with every hit. I could see that her horns were bigger and she now had fangs like she did the last time I saw her that angry. When Philip tried to counter with his arm blade, Zero Two grabbed his arm and broke it in two, making him yell in pain and did the same to his leg when he tried to get back up. It got to the point where Philip was barely moving and he was lying in a pool of his own blood. But Zero Two wasn't letting up and continued to strike him over and over.

"Zero Two! That's enough!" Nikki said, trying to get her to stop. But Zero Two didn't listen and shoved Nikki off of her before going back to hitting Philip. But she wasn't able to do it for much longer because Nikki shot the rebar out of her hand with her arm cannon. In a fit of rage, Zero Two lunged at Nikki, pinning her to the ground and putting her hands around her neck. Nikki tried in vain to get her off, but Zero Two choked her harder and harder until it looked like she was about to pass out. Standing up, I knew that I had to do something and I had to do it now, whatever the consequences were.

"ZERO TWO!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. Zero Two immediately turned to me, barely even releasing her grip on Nikki. I held out my hands as a sign of telling her that I wasn't going to hurt her.

"Please. She's your friend, Zero Two. You don't want to hurt her. Let her go…" I said calmly. Zero Two looked back at Nikki for a quick second before releasing her and standing back, breathing heavily with rage, leaving Nikki to cough a bit and gasp for air. Celeste ran out of the ship, having seen all the commotion, and pointed a blaster straight at Zero Two as I started to inch towards her carefully.

"Hiro, back away from her now!" Celeste said, resting her finger on the trigger.

"It's OK. I can handle this," I said, continuing to walk towards Zero Two. Her eyes were still glowing red and she still had her fangs out, but she did seem to be a bit more relaxed.

"Zero Two… I know that you're still in there. I don't know what it is that he did to you, but you need to fight it. You can't lose yourself to the darkness. And you won't," I said.

"HIRO! I said back away from her!" Celeste yelled. She slowly aimed the rifle at Zero Two's head, which got her attention. But she didn't attack or anything. She just stood there, her red eyes continuing to glow. But before Celeste could even shoot, Max grabbed her blaster and pointed it downward, giving me an approving nod. I nodded back and continued to move toward Zero Two.

"Listen… I know that you can fight whatever's going on. Because you… you're the strongest person I know. And you won't let the monster out. I know you won't. Because you're stronger than it will ever be," I said. I gently pulled her in and hugged her tightly to try and calm her down. But I must've gone too fast because, next thing I knew, she dug her nails into my back and left claw marks running down both the suit and my back, drawing blood. I winced in pain, but I didn't let go of Zero Two. I just simply hugged her tighter, refusing to let her go.

"Don't… Don't push me away. I just want to help you. And no matter what happens, I'll never let you go. I'll never leave you. You're the only one who can truly be my partner," I said, softly resting my forehead on Zero Two's forehead. A tear slid down her cheek as her eyes returned to normal and she crumpled to the floor. Zero Two then began to sob and weep uncontrollably. I gently kneeled onto the floor and hugged her again, gently rubbing her head to try and calm her.

"Shhhh. It's OK. I'm right here," I said as Zero Two continued to cry. Max walked over to me and put his hand on my shoulder.

"We need to leave now," he said.

"What about him?" I asked, pointing to Philip. He was barely alive, coughing up blood every now and then as he laid there.

"What about him?" Max replied coldly, walking back to the ship. I just picked up Zero Two and we all got back on the ship and left the destroyed remains of the prison behind, disappearing into the void.

**Max's perspective**

Hiro gently set Zero Two on the med bed and sat down beside her, holding her hand as the heart monitor started to steadily beep.

"She's gonna be OK. We should give her some rest for right now," Nikki said. Tears started to run down Hiro's face as he gently squeezed Zero Two's hand.

"This is all my fault. I should've stopped her from attacking straight away. Then maybe he wouldn't have done this to her," Hiro said, grief-stricken. I gently put my hand on his shoulder and hugged him to try and comfort him a bit.

"Hiro, I swear to you that he will pay for this," I said. Hiro just nodded sadly in reply, so both me and Nikki left the two alone and headed for the bridge. Eva was helping put Odango back together while Rhonda was trying to get Eila and Goo acquainted. Celeste was sitting in the command chair, staring out into the void in silence.

"How bad was the prison hit?" I asked.

"Pretty bad. The staff did manage to get most of the inmates off in time, but the rest were killed in the chaos," Amki replied sadly.

"Well, Zero Two's a little worse for wear, but it looks like she'll recover. What happened to her?" Nikki asked, pointing at Odango.

"Ember attacked the ship. She left Odango in pretty bad shape, but we managed to subdue her. She's in the ship's brig right now," Eva said as Odango slowly hummed to life and sat up, rubbing her head.

"Well, at least we didn't go to that prison for nothing," I said, placing the book I took from the acolyte's cell on the table.

"This is the third time… the third time in a row that they found us," Celeste said, her voice seething with anger.

"Actually, the second time they didn't find y'all. I mean, they knew that you were there, but they didn't exactly find you," Rhonda said. Celeste just angrily slammed her fist on the arm rest of the chair and stood up.

"Every time that tyrant shows up, innocent people die. HOW DOES HE KEEP FINDING US?!"

"Look, I want to know how he keeps finding as much as you do Celeste, but the only way to get him off of our backs is to finish what we started. This book may contain the answers that we were searching for," I said, pointing to the book. Celeste looked up at me and then looked around the room for a minute.

"Where's Rhea?" she asked.

"I believe that she's in her room," Eva said. Not even two seconds after those words left her mouth, Celeste immediately stormed off the bridge and made a beeline for Rhea's room with me and Nikki in tow.

"Whoa, Celeste, hold up! Rhea's not to blame for any of this!" Nikki said, trying to stop Celeste.

"Maybe, but she might have answers…" Celeste replied. She pressed the panel to the door to Rhea's room and it opened to reveal a rather confusing scene. Rhea had a dagger in her left hand and it looked like she was trying to cut into her right shoulder. But what really shocked all three of us was that, on her right shoulder, she had a symbol of a very ornate "O". I instantly recognized it as the same one Philip had on his armor.

"Rhea… what is all this?" Nikki asked. Rhea just looked at us in fear and horror.

"My friends… I can explain this.." Rhea started to say. But she wasn't able to say anymore because Celeste rushed towards her, snatched the dagger from her hand, and pinned her up against the wall.

"CELESTE, NO!" I yelled as she pressed the dagger against Rhea's throat.

**To Be Continued…**


	11. Chapter 11: Truth

HuniePop Space Adventures

Chapter 11: Truth

"CELESTE, LET HER GO!" I yelled as Celeste held Rhea up against the wall with the dagger up against her throat. Rhea had tears in her eyes as she struggled to get Celeste to release her.

"You deceived us… You were working with him this whole time, weren't you?!" Celeste asked angrily, pressing the dagger into Rhea's throat, drawing a bit of blood.

"I swear to you… I am not affiliated with him at all! I would never agree with any of his motives! I am your friend, Celeste!" Rhea pleaded. Celeste angrily threw Rhea against her bed in response to that statement.

"Then how does the Overlord keep finding us? You are the only one who knows about his motives and you were on his ship when his crusade began! Why do you have his mark on your shoulder?!" Celeste asked. Rhea just sat there in silence, rubbing her neck in pain. Celeste grabbed her by the hair and dragged her out of the room, not saying a word to either me or Nikki.

"Celeste, let's not do anything stupid!" Nikki said, following Celeste down the hall. But Celeste was heading towards the brig, where Ember was sitting melancholy inside her cell. Celeste opened up a cell next to Ember and threw Rhea inside before leaving without saying another word, leaving me and Nikki in shock and distress. A few minutes later after things had settled down, Celeste gathered everyone except for Zero Two on the bridge and brought everyone up to speed on what had happened earlier. Everyone, not surprisingly, was shocked at what Celeste had just revealed.

"I don't believe it," Rhonda said, rubbing her head in distress.

"It's true. She bears the Overlord's mark. She's been working with him the whole time," Celeste said.

"OK, I call BS for a number of reasons. First, did you even LET her talk about it? The Overlord probably branded her like a slave and that's why she has that mark. And here you are rushing straight to conclusions without asking her about it," Amki said.

"I agree with Amki. It isn't logical for us to assume that Rhea still has ties to the Overlord when she clearly stated she has no interest in any of his plans," Eva said.

"And yet the Overlord has still managed to find us three times. That isn't coincidence," Celeste replied.

"So, what do you plan to do with her?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"We can do one of two things. We either kill her or leave her stranded on a planet where she won't be harmed and she can manage resources on her own."

"Yeah, we're not doing either of those things. She's the only one who can decipher the Magistrus book so we should ask her why she didn't tell us about her previous ties to the Overlord and give her a chance."

"Max, are you that dense?!"

"No, I'm just trying to explore any other options that we have rather than just jumping straight to us giving her the death penalty."

"Celeste, he's right! Rhea's been doing a great job at helping us protect people and right now, she's our best chance at stopping the Overlord!" Nikki said.

"That isn't the point. We've been ambushed by the Overlord and his minions three times and now one of our friends is in a coma," Celeste said.

"Except it wasn't Rhea's fault! It was the Overlord who did that to her! And you didn't see what I saw when she found us! She stood up to him like it was nothing and she protected the both of us! The Overlord is the one who's to blame, so quit deflecting it onto-!" Hiro said, completely upset.

"Hiro… Hiro. Go help Zero Two," I said, putting my hands on his shoulders.

"But… I'm right, aren't I?"

"You are, but I can handle this. Just go see if she's OK, alright?" I said. Hiro just nodded and left the bridge, leaving us in silence.

"Tell me that you were lying to him," Celeste said.

"I wasn't. The Overlord is to blame for this, not Rhea. There must be a logical explanation for why she has that mark on her back, which is why we need to talk to her," I said. Celeste just got up from the chair and walked over to me, her arms crossed.

"Look, I trust you. But if we find out something that disagrees with all of us, she leaves this ship."

"If we DO find out something that disagrees with us, we'll all decide what to do. As a team," I replied. Celeste just gave me a slight nod and left the bridge. As I started to follow behind her, Nikki grabbed my arm.

"Max, what if Celeste is right? What if Rhea can't be trusted?" she asked.

"We need to trust her. She got us this far. We should let her speak her mind," I said. I headed toward the brig alongside Celeste and we stepped in to find Rhea sitting in the corner of her cell, looking guilty and melancholic. I pulled a chair in front of the cell door and sat down.

"Rhea… I'm sorry about what happened earlier. But, right now, you need to start telling us the truth. Why do you have the Overlord's mark on your shoulder?" I asked. Rhea just rubbed her shoulder in shame before looking back at me with apologetic eyes.

"The mark represents those that the Overlord trusts or those who are his followers. He gave me this mark the day he stole me from my home," Rhea explained.

"Why did you not bring this to our attention sooner?" Celeste asked.

"Because I thought you would resent me if I told you who I really was. That you would treat me like an outcast because of my lineage."

"Lineage? What are you talking about? What did the Overlord do to you?" I asked. Rhea just looked at me while the tears came to her eyes.

"He's my father," she said. Those three words completely shocked both me and Celeste into complete silence. The Overlord was Rhea's FATHER? I found that extremely hard to believe, given that Rhea was a kind and compassionate person as opposed to the Overlord's brutal and tyrannical actions. Behind me, Celeste was clenching her fists and gritting her teeth in anger.

"You said that the Overlord killed your father," Celeste said.

"He did, but…"

"Wait, let me guess: He got so angry that he betrayed himself and the good man he used to be was gone?" I asked. Rhea just nodded in silence, the tears running down her face. I got up from the chair and both me and Celeste walked out of the brig.

"I told you she couldn't be trusted," Celeste said.

"No, there has to be an explanation for this. I don't believe that she is the Overlord's daughter. There's no way."

"She seemed pretty sincere about it."

"There's a severe personality difference between those two. And she said that she had no interest in any of his schemes. It just doesn't add up,"

"Max, I admire how trusting that you are, but that's sometimes to a fault. She lied to us. She lied to all of us."

"And you think killing her is the answer? Rhea has been helping us a lot ever since she joined us. We should give her credit for that."

"Alright, fine. We'll ask her what she knows until we arrive," Celeste said, opening the door to the brig again.

"Arrive where?" I asked.

"Somewhere we the Overlord can't find us while we recuperate."

**Hiro's perspective**

To be honest, I wasn't very good at cooking. I thought that an in-bed meal would make Zero Two happy, but there weren't a lot of options for me to pick. So I ended up picking a simple chicken meal that I had to cook myself and I ended up slightly burning it a bit. But I think it was still edible. I entered the med bay and saw that Zero Two's eyes were now open and her heart rate was a whole lot more relaxed. But she didn't even turn her head my way when I came in. She just kept on staring at the ceiling even as I set the tray on the table beside the bed and sat down.

"Hey. How are you feeling?" I asked.

"I feel fine," she answered, not taking her eyes off of the ceiling. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank God. You gave us all a fright."

"Did I? I didn't mean to…"

"Yeah, it was pretty scary. Anyway, I… made you something to eat. It'll help you feel better," I said, giving her the tray. She just looked down at it for a few seconds in silence before looking back up at the ceiling again.

"I don't want it," she said in a monotone.

"Yeah, I figured. I tried to cook it as best as I could, but it got a little burned. So, are you sure you're feeling OK? You look a little depressed."

"What does 'OK' even mean? I've been trying to figure that out for the past few hours and I can't figure out what it means. And there are a lot of other things I don't understand. Why are we still here? Just to suffer?"

"Wh-what are you talking about? Zero Two, what's wrong?"

"You were right before, Darling. I am a monster. I always will be. I can never change."

"What kind of nonsense is that? You not a monster, Zero Two. You're a wonderful human being and you're very beautiful," I said, inching my hand towards hers. But right as I was about to touch her hand, she jerked it back and cowered at the side of the bed.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" she yelled, throwing me off-guard a bit. Her whole body was shivering in fear and tears began to run down her cheeks.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm gonna hurt you again…"

"What are you talking about? You're not gonna hurt me, OK?" I said. I tried to give her a hug, but she pulled up the back of my shirt while keeping her distance from me.

"Then what do you call THAT?" she said. I looked back at the mirror on the wall and saw her pointing at the slash marks she left back at the prison. I mean, she did hurt me, but that really wasn't her fault.

"Well… that was just an accident. Look, the Overlord hit us bad, but we'll bounce back from this. The important thing is that you're in control again, OK?"

"I'm in control?"

"Of course you are!" I said. Without any warning, Zero Two swiftly grabbed the knife on the tray and brought it towards her neck. I managed to grab the knife before she could stab herself, but it became a bit of a power struggle because I tried to aim the knife away from her and it was within inches of piercing her neck. After a few seconds of struggling, I managed to overpower her and aim the knife at the bed, which Zero Two stabbed instead of herself. I pulled the knife out of the bed and hurled it away from us as Zero Two just sat there, not saying a word.

"Zero Two, what the hell are you doing?!" I asked, grabbing her shoulders.

"You said that I was in control. So I wanna die. I don't want to burden you anymore if I'm going to hurt you and the others. I want to end this nightmare," Zero Two said.

"Zero Two, you're not going to hurt us!"

"I have before. I hurt our Squad. I hurt our team. I called you fodder. I'm nothing but a monster."

"OK, yes, you've hurt our friends before, but that wasn't your fault! Look, you're gonna be just fine, I promise!"

"Darling, just give me the knife. End my suffering."

"DON'T ASK ME THAT! DON'T YOU DARE ASK ME THAT!" I yelled, tears running down my face.

"You know that you can't let the monster out. Just end it all. Live a good life without me," Zero Two said, running her hands down my face.

"Zero Two, I don't want to go back home without you! What happens if I do kill you? What do I tell the Squad?"

"…I died."

"Zero Two, please… don't do this. I love you!" I said, sobbing.

"If you love me, you'll let me do this," Zero Two said, wiping my tears. I hung my head in despair. What on Earth was WRONG with her?!

"…OK," I finally said. But as I went to get the knife, I fiddled around with the buttons on the bed and activated its restraining mode. Just as I grabbed the knife, I grabbed Zero Two's arm and locked in place with one of the cuffs and reached over her and forced the other down into the other cuff. Zero Two wildly thrashed around as I locked her feet in place with the other cuffs. Her eyes turned red and her horns and fangs grew again as I set the food tray on the counter and I held Zero Two's face with my hands.

"I'm sorry, but I love you even more than that. I promise you, I'm gonna fix this, whatever it takes," I said, kissing Zero Two on the forehead. I immediately ran to the brig where Celeste and Max were already talking to Rhea, but they turned their heads to me when I entered the room.

"Hiro, what is the meaning of this?" Celeste asked.

"Rhea, I need your help! It's… it's Zero Two! I…" I frantically said. Max grabbed me by the shoulders to try and calm me down.

"Hiro! Calm down! Explain to us what's wrong," he said.

"It's Zero Two! She's suffering! She's been… having thoughts of suicide and I don't know what to do! She won't listen to me!"

"What are you talking about? What's wrong with Zero Two?" Celeste asked. I just ignored her and kneeled down in front of Rhea's cell, grabbing the bars to the cell.

"Rhea, I need you to help me. I don't know what's wrong with her!" I said.

"It must've been the Overlord's magic. He's known to evoke thoughts of suicide after the victim does something unnatural in their behavior. It's very strong magic that's been forbidden to be used by my people," Rhea replied.

"How exactly do you know this?"

"Because apparently we've been sheltering the Overlord's daughter," Celeste said. I was completely shocked by those words. There was no way Rhea was the daughter of someone so cold and heartless. But I didn't let that sidetrack me.

"Rhea… please. I am BEGGING you. I NEED to help her. I can't live without her," I said, the tears running down my face. I saw the tears running down her face as well.

"Hiro, I truly am sorry that this calamity has befallen you, but my father's magic is extremely powerful and very damaging to anyone who crosses his path. That being said, the only way to dispel the magic is to remind Zero Two of who she is. If you do that, I promise you that the magic will vanish and she will be alright," Rhea said. I gave her a sad yet grateful smile at that response.

"Thank you, Rhea. Thank you."

"I am so sorry about all of this. I never asked for any of this to happen to any of you. And I am truly ashamed of my father's actions."

"Listen, none of that matters! It doesn't matter if you're the daughter of the Overlord or not! What matters is that you're helping us fight him! And we'll help you however we can!" I said. Rhea gave me a smile as I stood back up and started to exit the room.

"Hiro, we can't trust her," Celeste said. I just stood there in the doorway and looked back at Celeste in sadness.

"If we can't trust her, who else can we trust?" I asked before I left to try and help Zero Two.

**Nikki's perspective**

After about a few minutes of space travel, we finally landed on a remote planet, right next to a swamp of some kind. When we all stepped out, I took in the fresh air and exhaled deeply. While the swamp looked just like any normal swamp that we had on Earth, the banks of the lake close to us had crystal clear blue water, accompanied by smooth stones on the lake bed. The grass also felt soft to the touch and very comfortable to sit on.

"This place looks so beautiful. What's it called?" I asked, lying on the ground and staring up at the clear blue sky.

"It doesn't have a name. Many refer to it as Planet SE42," Celeste replied, stretching a bit.

"Any hazards that we should be worried about?" Max asked.

"Just torrential downpours. The local wildlife here is fairly peaceful. It's also a dead zone for radios or any other sort of communications, so we can lay low here for a while as I make repairs."

"Well, I'm gonna go get my swimsuit on. Anyone wanna join me?" Amki asked.

"Sure! I mean, we're not really doing anything, right?" I asked.

"I can't. I need to let everything settle down before I ask Rhea some more questions," Max replied, heading back into the ship.

"Max, she won't tell us anything else. We should just let it go," Celeste said.

"No, she won't tell YOU anything else because you're being so hostile towards her. When you decide to talk to her in a more calm and understanding way, you come find me," Max replied. I sighed. I've never seen Max so upset at Celeste before. As for the rest of us, we just simply headed in and grabbed our swimsuits from the fabricator room and then headed into the lake. The water was nice and cool and the smooth stones felt like massagers for my feet as I walked across them.

"Ahhhhh, this feels very refreshing," Odango said as she laid in the water, her face towards the sky.

"Wait, you're actually waterproof?" Amki asked.

"Of course I am! As an all-terrain robot, I'm well accustomed to all environments!"

"Except for the hell-ridden landscape of Gaia Prime," I joked. Celeste was away from the rest of us, trying her best to relax. But I could easily tell that she wasn't at ease.

"Celeste? Are you OK?" I asked.

"Not entirely. It's just the amount of nonsense we've gone through recently has been harrowing and what we've learned about Rhea's lineage doesn't make it any better," Celeste said.

"Yeah. I still can't believe that she's the Overlord's daughter."

"What exactly do you plan to do with her?" Eva asked.

"I still haven't decided," Celeste replied.

"We not going to kill her are we?" I asked.

"At this point, it seems extremely logical to do so."

"WHY? We're gonna kill her just because she's the daughter of our enemy?"

"I agree with Nikki. Killing her sounds like an extremely dangerous idea," Amki said.

"It's because of her father that this war started. If we don't do something fast to end it, more lives will be put at stake. I cannot allow that to happen," Celeste replied, running water through her hair.

"Look, do you think any of us signed up for this? We didn't, but we're here fightin' it. Plus, killing the daughter of the Overlord won't end the war. It'll only make it worse."

"Amki's right, Celeste. The Overlord probably still loves her and if we kill her, then the Overlord won't hesitate to kill all of us," I said.

"And truth be told, Celeste: Max's been making more of the tough decisions around here than you have," Rhonda replied. Both Eila and Goo nodded in agreement.

"If that's so, then what is Rhea's motivation? Why does she wish to fight her own father and what does she hope to gain?" Celeste asked.

"I think we'll find out when Max gets a chance to talk to her," I said. At least, I hoped that we would get some answers.

**Hiro's perspective**

I cautiously opened the door to the med bay and entered, expecting Zero Two to wildly lash out at me. But when I came in, she was just sitting there in silence, not moving. I slowly approached the bed and showed her the picture of our squad, pointing at her in the picture.

"Do you see this girl?" I asked. Zero Two just looked at herself and stared for a few seconds.

"She looks like a nice person," she said.

"That's because she is. She's the most beautiful person I've ever met."

"What happened to her?"

"She's still around. It's just a matter of finding her. Don't you remember anything about where you came from?"

"I don't remember anything. Then again, I don't think that anyone could love a monster like me. I don't think I have a home," Zero Two said. My heart sank a little bit. I knew that Zero Two's memory wasn't going to be restored immediately, but I felt like it would take forever unless I found a faster way to kickstart it back into action. As my mind continued to wander, I noticed that everyone was outside swimming in the lake that we were parked alongside. Something immediately clicked inside of my brain, reminding me of a memory that both me and Zero Two once had.

"I promised you that I would help you. And that's exactly what I'm going to do," I said. I left the room and headed straight for the fabrication room, where I made a bathing suit for me and for Zero Two. After I had helped her put it on, I carefully carried her outside and took her to the lake. It didn't long for the others to notice us.

"Hiro, what is she doing out of the med bay?!" Celeste yelled at me as I gently set Zero Two in the water.

"Rhea said that the best way to break the magic's hold is to reaffirm her memory. We had a memory on our Earth that I'm certain she'll remember here," I replied. Zero Two just sat in the water in complete silence, not moving a muscle for a while until she looked down at the crystal clear water and scooped some of it up in her hands, looking at it with curiosity before looking back up at me.

"We… knew each other? We were… friends?" Zero Two asked. I smiled a bit and nodded.

"We fought alongside each other. The best that our squad could offer. Even in battle, you wore a smile on your face."

"Why can't I remember that? You know all about it but I can't remember anything. I just… why can't I remember?" Zero Two asked before walking off a bit, looking down at the water periodically. I couldn't help but smile at that.

"Why are you smiling? She still doesn't remember anything," Nikki said.

"Yeah, but she's starting to remember. Which means that Rhea was right," I said. I just hoped that it wouldn't be too late.

**Selene's perspective, Overlord's ship**

I paced back and forth as I waited with eager anticipation on what Philip's fate would be and what the Overlord would do with him. Zekxsie and Malicus were also in the room with me, but they could not figure out what was wrong with me nor why I seemed so bothered.

"OK, you're starting to scare me. You've been pacing back and forth for ten minutes now, Selene. What's wrong?" Zekxsie asked me.

"Just… trying to think things over. It's nothing too serious," I replied.

"I heard about what happened back at the prison. I cannot believe that Philip would do such a thing to you, sister," Malicus said. My anger rose sharply in reply to what my brother said. But, I also couldn't stop thinking about what Max also did. The thought of him actually showing sympathy for even his enemies made me sick. But it also made me have this burning desire to find out why he would do something like that. My thoughts were interrupted by the Overlord and Yoon entering the room.

"How is he?" Zekxsie asked.

"He's in very bad shape. His left arm and his right leg have been broken and his skull was nearly crushed. He should be fine in a few days after the vita-bed has healed him," Yoon replied.

"He's not DEAD?" Malicus asked, completely dumbfounded.

"He was barely alive. It's a miracle that we were able to save him in time."

"Well, good for him," I replied half-heartedly. The Overlord just looked at me with curiosity and confusion.

"Yoon, I wish to talk to Selene alone. See if you and the others can relocate our quarry," the Overlord said. Yoon bowed and he and the others left us and a hush fell over the entire room.

"You didn't kill him?" I asked.

"Philip still possesses skills that I need. He does not need to die."

"He betrayed me. My life was in danger and he did NOTHING to help me. And what do you offer him? A bland, weak scolding?"

"Philip's treachery did not go unpunished. I saw to it myself."

"By using one of Max's allies. What exactly will become of her now that you've infected her with your magic?"

"She will be fine."

"And how, pray tell, would you know that?!" I asked, enraged.

"My daughter is with them," the Overlord calmly told me. I was completely shocked by the words he said. But I just let out a sigh of anger and disappointment.

"The mage… the one who was on this ship and helped them escape… she was your daughter?"

"I told you that she was the last reminder that I had of my world, yes? She is well educated in my ways. She'll help cure the girl of my magic."

"Once again, you've kept this secret from all of us. And it's one of many lies that you've been telling me."

"Selene, what I've been offering you is truth. Truth from the past that haunts you and the evils that this universe holds."

"YOU LIE! Every night, I cannot sleep because the nightmares of my past continually haunt me. You talk of saving this universe from whatever evil that you claim is taking place, yet you fail to see that this plan of yours is folly! Info is completely unhinged, Taarkin is dead, and Philip is a damned traitor! This is a battle that we are LOSING! CAN YOU NOT SEE THAT?!" I yelled. A hush fell over the entire room as the Overlord stared at me in sadness.

"I do admit that we are falling in our numbers, but it will not matter once we have achieved our goal. And I promise that you will be free of the nightmares that haunt you," the Overlord finally said.

"Empty lies. That's all you've given so far. And this crusade of yours? It's doomed to fail. To a human, no less. I no longer want any part of this," I said, walking away from him. But after a few steps, I turned back to him. He wasn't making any objections or even threatening me not to leave.

"You have no complaints?" I asked.

"The path is yours alone to walk. If you believe that you can find peace on your own, I will not stop you. But know this. If you stand against me, I will not hesitate to injure or kill you. Any resistance will be extinguished, even you," the Overlord said. I just nodded in silence and headed back to my quarters. After I had packed all of my things, I headed for the escape pods and placed my things inside one of them.

"You're leaving us?" a voice said behind me. It was Malicus, who was standing against the wall with his arms crossed.

"I have no other choice," I replied as I set up the pod for my departure.

"There's always a choice. He took us in! Trained us to be better! Had it not been for him, we would've both starved to death on Actaeon! Are you not grateful for that?!"

"I am grateful. But are we actually better? We've slaughtered several who were deserving… and many more who were not. It has left a hole in me that I have no idea how to mend. I let myself think that we were making things better. But we're not. That's why I can't do this anymore. I'm done."

"Do you have a death wish?! There is no 'done'!" Malicus complained, grabbing my arm.

"Perhaps not for you. Goodbye, brother," I said before I struck him in the throat, which made him reel back in pain. I took the opportunity to get onboard the escape pod and leave the ship, disappearing into the void towards wherever I wanted.

**Hiro's perspective, Planet SE42**

The wind swept through my hair as me and Zero Two climbed up a steep slope. The soft grass felt like we were walking on a blanket as we continued to climb until we got to a cliff overlooking the lake. It was an extraordinary view, but I knew that the real reason that I was up here was not to stare out at a view like this. I was to help Zero Two remember another memory that she held dearly.

"It's beautiful from up here, isn't it?" I said, looking out over the horizon.

"It does look very pretty. But why did you bring me all the way up here?" Zero Two asked.

"So you can remember. About who we were. And what we are now."

"We were partners, right? That's all that I can remember."

"Seriously? There must be more that you can remember."

"I also remember that I was… created. They tortured me… like the monster that I was. I bet I deserved it…"

"That's not true! What they did to you was inhumane and wrong! You're a wonderful girl!"

"With all due respect, what would you even know about who I was?" Zero Two asked scornfully.

"I know a lot more than you might think. But, if that's how you feel…" I replied before moving to the edge of the cliff with my back towards the horizon. Zero Two just looked at me questionably.

"What are you doing?"

"It's a sheer drop to the bottom from up here. If you claim that you are a monster, you'll let me drop from here without even a second thought."

"…You're not that crazy. You don't look that crazy to just throw away your life like this."

"Wanna bet? I'll do it!" I said, backing up until I was almost at the very edge. But Zero Two just walked up to me, grabbed my shoulders and lead me away from the edge.

"No, you won't," she said. I thought for a second that she finally regained her memories. But before I could say anything, she pushed me aside, and walked up to the edge before turning back to me.

"But I will," she said. I immediately ran to try and stop her as she fell backward, but I slipped on the grass just as I grabbed her wrist and we both fell off of the cliff. As we fell, Zero Two looked back up to me and then her eyes widened, as if she had just remembered something and after about five more seconds of free fall, we hit the icy cold water below. Luckily, it was deep enough to cushion our impact. I grabbed Zero Two and brought her back up to the surface and dragged her to the shore, where the others rushed over to help us.

"Hiro, are you insane?! Did you think twice before jumping from up there?!" Celeste yelled at me as Nikki did CPR on Zero Two. After a few chest compressions, Zero Two violently coughed up water and laid back in exhaustion, staring up at me.

"We weren't just partners… we were… lovers?" Zero Two asked, panting. I couldn't help but smile at that.

"We still are. You always called me your 'Darling'," I said. But Zero Two just pushed me away in disgust.

"How could you love something like me?!" she yelled. I just smiled again and put my hands on her face before I tenderly kissed her on the forehead.

"Why not?" I asked. Zero Two didn't reply. She just began to cry and walked away from the rest of us, leaving me to figure out what to do next.

**Max's perspective**

Remember when certain teams break up due to differing opinions? It's happened to even the best of teams: The Avengers, the Justice League, Overwatch. And now it was happening to us because we were sheltering the daughter of our greatest enemy. I didn't really know what we could do to help Rhea, but, at this point, I was more determined than ever to try and prove her innocent. Right as I was about to enter the brig, I heard the voices of Rhea and Ember talking, so I silently stood beside the doorway and listened in.

"You know, I know what it feels like. To be betrayed by your own kind and those whom you trust. The pain never heals. You just have to live with that and use it like a weapon," Ember said.

"You're wrong. My people didn't betray me. My father betrayed them. I hate what my father has done to this universe, the many innocents that he's killed, but I will not let my anger consume me the same way it consumed him," Rhea replied. I silently stood in the doorway as Ember continued to talk to her.

"You have no idea how it works, do you? If someone wrongs you, you make their life a living hell and make them regret ever having done you wrong. I can see it in your eyes. You want to make him suffer for what he did to you."

"Then you don't know her at all," I said, walking into the brig. Rhea looked at me with wide eyes while Ember just had a disgusted look on her face.

"This does not concern you, human! Piss off!" Ember said. I just simply pressed a button on the wall beside her cell which lowered a dark screen in front of her, blocking out her perception. As I sat down in front of Rhea, I could hear Ember banging on the bars, but the screen also blocked out the noise that she made and also blocked out what we were saying.

"You… heard all of that?" Rhea asked.

"Just the last few seconds. You really meant all of it?" I asked.

"Every bit of it. I don't care how I stop this madness, but I need to put a stop to my father's actions, by any means necessary."

"Look, I wanna help you. But I need you to tell me everything that you know about him. What he did, what he lost, why it matters so much to you, everything."

"I… I wouldn't know where to start."

"Start from the beginning," I said, placing a recording device next to me.

"OK… OK. My father was originally from a planet known as Altus. It was known famously for having one of the greatest empires the universe had ever known. But what most people didn't know about Altus is what they did to rise to such power. They exploited power from other planets: Resources, magic, weapons and artillery. My father was leader of an elite guard under his own command and his superiors sent him and his militia to Obraxis to find out the secret of my people's longevity and the source of their power. When they arrived, they were brought to my mother, who was one of the leaders of Obraxis at the time. When my father met her, he fell in love with her and he resolved to abandon his quest and to help the people of Obraxis hide from Altus. In time, he fathered me and my five siblings alongside my mother and they taught him their magic in return for his protection. But when his superiors on Altus learned of his betrayal, they sent more of their forces to eradicate my father and his entire militia. But, my father knew that they would have eventually attacked the planet and they were ready by the time that the militia arrived. After almost 5 whole weeks of endless attacks, my father and his militia went back to Altus to personally deal with the empire. But, unbeknownst to any of us, his superiors ordered one of the waves to release a deadly virus that they had previously acquired from another planet onto my entire species. My mother was among many of the individuals that were infected and when my father found out, he slaughtered all of his superiors, took the cure from them, and burned the entire empire to the ground. But by the time that he returned, my mother was too sick for the cure to work and after she died, my father vowed to destroy any and all evil in the universe. Before she died, my mother gave me her magic staff and made me promise her one thing: That I would stop my father should he go too far, even if it meant that I should kill him. Everything changed after she died. My father took the remaining survivors and killed the rest of Altus' military by destroying Obraxis. I didn't wish for my siblings or the rest of my people to suffer at the hands of his evil any longer, so I sent them to a remote planet while I stayed behind. My father punished me for my actions, but he agreed to spare the rest of my people in exchange for me staying with him. For 2 years, I've watched him descend further into his madness, recruiting those who shared his beliefs. It was only after I discovered that you had the Infernite energy within you that I decided to take action and try and help you stop him. I'm sorry that you all had to find out under these circumstances," Rhea explained. I turned off the recording device and stood back up.

"Sometimes there are things that are out of our control. He made a decision to try and abandon evil. It was his superior's fault that he brought their own downfall with him," I said.

"It's just that… within one day, my entire life fell apart. I lost my mother, my father, my home world… and I couldn't do anything about it."

"Then you're just like me. I lost my first girlfriend when I was almost finished with high school. I loved her so much. When she was murdered, it felt like my whole world was gone. But I learned to move on. What I'm saying is that if you want us to help you, you need to be straight with us. You need to hide nothing from us. If you do that, we'll be able to help you."

"You're right. And I know how to keep the Overlord off of our backs."

"How?" I asked. Rhea immediately turned her back to me and uncovered the mark on her back.

"I've been trying to figure out how exactly my father keeps finding us. And there is an unusually high electric surge coming from my shoulder. It turns out that he implanted a tracking device in my shoulder underneath this mark," she said.

"Wait… so what you're saying is…"

"You need to rip out the device and destroy it. If we do that, the Overlord will be unable to find us."

"Rhea, that sounds dangerous. I mean, isn't your father able to sense when you're in pain? And even if he isn't, what happens if he finds out that the tracking device was removed and destroyed? He'll rain hell down on all of us."

"It's either that or we'll never be able to escape him. It has to be done, Max. I'm begging you. PLEASE," Rhea said. I really didn't want to do it. Hurting her sounded almost like the death penalty for all of us. But she was right. If we couldn't get the Overlord off our backs, we would never get anything done. I went to the med bay to grab a first aid kit and then I returned to the brig and let Rhea out of her cell. She laid down on the floor with her back toward me and removed a part of her cloak to reveal the mark.

"Listen, this is going to hurt. Just try not to scream," I said, extending my blade a bit.

"I will try," Rhea replied. She put a part of her cloak in her mouth and she gave me a nod to tell me to begin. I lowered the blade onto her skin and cut an 'X' on the symbol. I pressed even further inside of Rhea's skin, her purplish-blue blood spilling out from the wound onto the floor, until I felt that I had cut far enough. I retracted my blade and stuck my fingers inside of the wound, trying to feel for the device and when I did find it, I used my other hand to hold Rhea's shoulder down and slowly pulled the cylindrical device out. After I bandaged up Rhea's wound, I set the device on the floor and crushed it underneath my foot. Rhea was steadily panting, but it looked like she was no longer in any pain.

"We did it…" she said as I set her back in her cell.

"Just try and rest for now. I'll try to see if I can convince Celeste to let you out of here," I replied as I picked up the recording device and left the brig.

**Hiro's perspective**

"Listen up! We'll be leaving shortly, so get ready to pack up!" Celeste yelled to us.

"Already?" I asked as Nikki and the others headed back to the ship.

"I'm afraid so, Hiro. If you're going to try and help Zero Two regain another memory, I suggest that you do it now," Celeste replied. I just lowered my head in sadness and looked back at Zero Two, who was sitting in the water beside the banks. I walked back over to her as she swirled the water a bit with her finger and sat down beside her.

"So, you still can't remember anything?" I asked her.

"Not a thing. What you've been telling me doesn't make any sense at all. That you and me were both partners and lovers, that I was never a monster… it doesn't add up," she said, barely even looking up from the water.

"You have to remember SOMETHING. I believe that your memories are still there, it's just a matter of finding them."

"Look, I appreciate all that you've been trying to do, but it's pointless for you to keep trying. Just leave me here to die," Zero Two said. I felt like there was no way to convince her to go on. But I knew that giving up would leave me feeling empty inside and I wasn't about to give up that easily. As I looked out over the lake, I noticed a small shoal of fish jumping in and out of the water trying to catch some flies that were hovering over the lake. I immediately got an idea.

"Maybe this will jog your memory a bit," I said before I dove into the lake and swam toward the shoal. The fish weren't quick enough to spot me and I managed to grab one with my teeth before rushing back to the shore and leaping out. Zero Two did it when I met her the second time, but I didn't exactly do it as gracefully as she did it. Still, I just stood there the fish still wriggling in my mouth as Zero Two just stared at me with confused and upset eyes.

"You… are the most STUBBORN person I've ever met. You won't let me die. You're so persistent to help me even though there's no point. And yet, even then… there is also this look in your eye that I can't ignore."

"Mm-hmm."

"It's a look of… danger. Like you live for it. And if you lived for it, then you loved to take risks. But not all the time."

"Mm-hmm."

"You were sometimes cautious. Even our friends respected what you did. And even when you felt that you weren't the best, you…"

"Hiro! Spit that fish out immediately! It's venomous!" Celeste yelled to me from the ship. My eyes widened in surprise and I spat the fish out, which swam away as soon as it hit the water.

"Don't scare me like that! And I thought you said that there were no other dangers on this planet!" I yelled to Celeste.

"The fish had venomous barbs hidden within its fins. A second longer and it would have shot them at you and you would've been paralyzed for a few hours."

"Well maybe warn me next time so I know!" I said, completely embarrassed. But after I had finished that sentence, the once-emotionless Zero Two began to snicker a bit until she burst into full-on laughter.

"Oh, Darling… You crack me up sometimes!" she said, resting her head on my chest for a bit before she then looked up at me with her usual smile. But her smile then vanished when she looked around at the lake.

"Wait… how'd we get here?" she asked. I was completely confused as to what was going on.

"Are you… OK?" I asked.

"I'm fine. It's just that one second we were at the prison and now we're here. Did I pass out or something?"

"You don't… remember anything?"

"I remember that you were trying to eat a venomous fish a few seconds ago," Zero Two replied, giving me a smug smile.

"I didn't know that the fish was venomous! Celeste told me that the only danger on this planet was the weather and I thought that…" I started to say. But, I couldn't say anymore after that because Zero Two wrapped her arms around my neck and embraced me with a heartfelt kiss. I just went along with it and I gently held her in my arms as we lost each other in the kiss. After about a few seconds, Zero Two broke off the kiss and hugged me.

"Did you think I was going to lick you like last time?" Zero Two asked me with a smile.

"I was prepared this time," I replied, hugging her tightly.

**Rhea's perspective**

The coldness of my bed was a bit unnerving as I laid on it. I winced in pain a bit from the wound in my shoulder, but I felt more at ease now that the tracking device had been removed. 15 minutes had passed since then and the silence of the brig was haunting. Suddenly, without any warning, the main door to the brig opened and Max stepped into view.

"Celeste wants to see you now," he said, opening the cell door and leading me out. He was doing his best not to touch my injured shoulder as he lead me to the bridge, where Celeste was sitting in the command chair with the Hiro, Amki, and Nikki sitting nearby.

"You wished to see me?" I asked.

"I did. It's about how we move forward," Celeste replied.

"I understand. If you wish to leave me here, I won't stop you. I deserve this."

"See, that's what I originally intended to do. But, the truth is… you've been doing a lot to help us. And I never knew of what you had lost and the promises that you made. I acted rashly and unfairly toward you and I am truly sorry for how I acted."

"B-but, you have every right to be angry at me," I said.

"Max shared your story with the rest of us. It sounded heartfelt and true. What I'm saying is, I wish for you to keep helping us fight the Overlord by staying with us. As long as you are here with us, we have a real chance at defeating him. Not just because you are our only chance, but also because you are our friend," Celeste said. I immediately came to tears and tenderly hugged Celeste, who hugged me back.

"Thank you so much. I promise that I will do everything in my power to stop my father once and for all."

"And I promise that we will honor your mother's wishes. It's time we got back to work," Celeste replied, handing me a book with the Magistrus family symbol on it. Max pulled me to the side along with Nikki and Hiro as I clutched the book.

"Thank you," I said.

"I told you that we would do what we could to help. You're a part of this team, whether you're the Overlord's daughter or not," Max said, putting his hand on my good shoulder.

"But… What about Zero Two? Is she…"

"She's going to be just fine. She's starting to act normally now," Hiro replied with a smile.

"Looks like your method of dispelling the Overlord's magic worked. Thanks to you, it looks like she'll pull through," Nikki added. I couldn't help but smile, knowing that Zero Two would now be OK. But Hiro began to look around the bridge like he had just lost something of value.

"Hiro, what's wrong?" Max asked.

"It's Zero Two. I swear, we both came back onto the ship together and now she's gone!" Hiro said, panicking.

"Hiro, relax. Zero Two probably just went back to your room so she could get some rest. I mean, she was under a hypnotic spell for a few hours," Nikki said.

"Found her!" Amki yelled over to us.

"Really? Where?" Max asked.

"She's outside. In the rain. With her shirt off," Amki said, pointing out the window. When we went over to the window and looked out, Zero Two was standing amongst the rain with her arms outstretched, almost as if she was in a trance. Hiro immediately ran out of the room and headed out even though Nikki tried to stop him from panicking too much.

**Zero Two's perspective**

The soft pitter-patter of the rain against my skin and my face felt very calming. The ambience was also very nice as I stood there, the rain drenching the land around me.

"Zero Two!" Darling yelled to me as he ran from the ship all the way across the grass over to me.

"What's up? Come out here to join me?" I asked as he panted.

"Why are you out here without a shirt on?! You're gonna catch a cold!" Darling replied, wrapping a blanket around me. I just gave him a light chuckle and hugged him.

"You're so sweet. That's what I love most about you."

"So… what exactly were you doing out here? We're about to take off soon."

"Just trying to clear my head. I've been… remembering things."

"You mean…"

"Back at the prison. I lost it and nearly beat Philip to death. And I became so tortured that I wanted to kill myself," I said.

"…Yeah," Darling replied, looking really guilty.

"But I also remembered how you calmed me down at the prison. And right here, on this planet… you didn't give up. Even when it looked like I couldn't be saved," I said, smiling.

"Well, of course not. I love you," Darling replied. I just gave him a hug as the rain continued to fall.

"Darling… There's something that I want to ask you. Or rather, there's something that I want you to ask me," I said, pulling a small box out of my pants pocket and giving it to him. Darling opened the box and his eyes went wide with surprise and confusion. Inside the box was a ring with a blue gem on it that I had bought.

"Wha- when did you get this?"

"Back when we had our argument, after things had settled down, I bought that ring. I thought that, whether we were staying in this dimension or going home, it was about time that we got married. Wouldn't you think so too?" I said, smiling. Darling just looked at the box for a few more seconds before that guilty look of his came back.

"I can't," he said.

"Why not?"

"Because I already know what your answer will be. I just don't think that the whole setup is necessary right no-."

"Darling… Just humor me," I said. Darling mumbled a bit, but he then knelt down on one of his knees and showed the ring to me.

"OK… Zero Two… will you marry me?" he proposed. I just gave him a smile at his commitment.

"Yes," I answered. Darling got back onto his feet and embraced me before we locked lips again as the rain began to fall harder. I gently rested my head on his chest as he stroked my hair.

"See, was that so hard?" I asked. Darling just laughed and we both headed back to the ship, completely drenched. Both Max and Nikki were looking at us happily as we walked inside and the ship began to take off.

"Well, that was cute," Max said as I slipped back into my shirt.

"Yeah, and that whole Shawshank Redemption setup was pretty cool too," Nikki added.

"Shawshank what now?" I asked.

"Never mind."

"So… what happens now?" Darling asked.

"We let Rhea decipher the book and once she finds out where it's taking us, we go where we're needed. And then we take down the Overlord's forces piece by piece until we can…" Max started to say. But before he could say anything more, a violent explosion rocked the entire ship to the core and we fell to the floor. We barely had time to recover before another explosion rung out. And it didn't take a genius to figure out what the source of the explosions were. The Overlord had found us.

And he was back… with a vengeance.

**To Be Continued…**


	12. Chapter 12: Outta Dimension Part 1

HuniePop Space Adventures

Chapter 12: Outta Dimension, Part 1

The ship jolted as the explosions continued to ring out. Nikki and I could barely keep our footing as we made our way to the bridge, where the alarm was blaring and Celeste was rapidly trying to fix the problem.

"What's going on?! What hit us?" I asked.

"The same thing that's been following us for a while," Celeste said as she continued to deal with any error that she saw. I groaned. Of course it was the Overlord. I sat down at one of the consoles as the rest of the team poured onto the bridge to try and help out however they could.

"How did he find us again?! I swear, this is starting to get plain annoying!" Zero Two said, pushing some of the buttons at her console.

"There was a tracking device in Rhea's shoulder that he put there. But I thought that we destroyed it?!" I replied.

"Probably not in time before he tracked us here," Rhea replied.

"Do we have any weapons?" Nikki asked.

"We do, but the rear turrets are down. All we have are our shields right now, but those won't last forever," Celeste replied.

"Can't we lose him in hyperspace?" Zero Two asked as another explosion rocked the ship.

"If we were going fast enough, but this they just took out two of the thrusters and the ship's engine can only go so fast with the remaining ones that we have. It's best for everyone to strap in and be ready to be boarded," Celeste said. Everyone except for Rhea immediately gathered to the middle where the passenger seats and begun to strap themselves in, preparing for the worst. After we sat down, Rhea was the only one who was still standing.

"Rhea, what are you doing? You need to sit down now!" Eva yelled as another explosion rocked the ship.

"We can outrun them. Celeste, when I give you the signal, activate the hyperdrive," Rhea replied. Celeste just gave her a confused look until another explosion hit us.

"Celeste… do as she says," I said. Celeste nodded and fired up the engines again before resting her hand on the hyperdrive lever. I then gave Rhea a nod and her staff began to glow as the light filled the entire cockpit.

"Beloved ancestors, I beseech you so that we may flee from our enemies and to hide from their prying eyes. Please encompass our ship with the blinding speed necessary to escape and grant us our escape from the hands of our enemies!" Rhea chanted, holding her staff in the air. The engines suddenly began to hum louder until the screens in front of Celeste stopped flashing red and turned green.

"PUNCH IT!" I yelled to Celeste. She obliged and pushed the hyperdrive lever forward and we went straight into hyperspace, faster than we ever did before. The force pushed us back into our seats as we sped through the cosmos. Rhea was nearly tossed about the entire cockpit, but she grabbed the back of my seat to keep herself from falling backward into the wall. After about a few seconds of hyperspace travel, Celeste finally pulled the lever back to try and get us out of hyperspace, only for us to find ourselves hurtling toward the ground of some planet. Celeste managed to position the ship so that it would land flat and after it had made impact with the ground, it created a long crater until it finally grinded to a halt. Everybody was a bit shaken from the sudden crash landing but, miraculously, nobody was hurt.

"Is it over? Someone tell me that this damn ride is over!" Amki yelled, her eyes shut tight.

"It's over, Amki. You can open your eyes now," Celeste replied, getting out of the command chair. The rest of us shakily got out of our chairs and walked over to the consoles to try and figure out where we were exactly.

"How's the ship looking?" Nikki asked.

"The ship has a reinforced underbelly, so we didn't sustain much damage from the crash. Two of our thrusters are out, though," Celeste replied.

"That should be an easy fix for me," Eva replied, walking out of the room to go fix the engine.

"Well, I guess we got lucky. Next order of business is where we are exactly," I said, sitting down at one of the consoles. I pressed a button which launched a bunch of drones out of the hull into the unexplored world that we were in now. Outside, it looked like a whole bunch of nothing. The land was barren, not a single tree, bush, or lake in sight.

"Drones have been launched. They should hopefully map out the area for us," Nikki said. Staring down at my console, I saw a red light flashing next to a planet of some sort. Unfortunately, the text was in alien dialect that I couldn't read.

"Hey, Celeste? What exactly does this error mean?" I asked. Celeste walked over to me and read the text before getting a worried look on her face as she pulled up a star map. After she punched in a few coordinates which came back negative, she got even more worried.

"No, no, no, no, this can't be right," she said, walking back over to the command chair.

"What? What's wrong?"

"That error means the home beacon isn't connecting. It essentially notifies me of any activity that goes on and sends me updates to the mission board. But the star maps are saying that my planet is not where it should. No, more than that- it was never there to begin with."

"What are you saying? It just disappeared?" Nikki asked.

"We can worry about it later. Where the hell are WE exactly?" Amki asked. Odango rapidly typed at her own console and when the screen lit up, her face was confused and terrified.

"Wait, this can't be right. It says that we're on… Earth," she said. Everybody went completely silent when she said that.

"Th-that's impossible! Are you sure that you're reading the computer right?" Nikki asked in a complete panic.

"I AM reading this right! It says that we've landed on Earth!"

"Wait… what the hell is that? That way out there," Rhonda said, pointing out the window. Me, Nikki, Zero Two, and Hiro went to the window and looked out at the barren landscape. Sure enough, there WAS something out there. It was some kind of dome-like structure which had a smaller glass dome at the top which seemed to have a forest inside of it. I didn't know what it meant, but both Zero Two and Hiro seemed surprised to see it.

"Darling… we're home," Zero Two said, putting her hand on the glass.

"Wait, this is YOUR EARTH?! How in the hell did we end up here?!" Amki asked.

"I have no idea. But it shouldn't look like this, should it?" Hiro asked, staring out at how barren it was. Over the next 15 minutes, we all tried to assess the situation as best we could. It was a bit confusing, but we did manage to get an idea of what was going on. As Zero Two and Hiro sat at the drone control console, the rest of us gathered around the hologram table.

"So, we somehow ended up in a completely different dimension, but how we managed to is completely unknown to me. Do we have any theories about how this happened?" Celeste asked.

"I don't have a theory, but rather an answer to that question. Our speed. The combined speed of my magic and the hyperdrive must've allowed us to rip through a dimensional tear and that's how we ended up in this dimension," Rhea said.

"Max, Nikki, has any media shown such a thing to be possible?"

"Yeah. _The Flash_. Season 2, episode 18. He ran so fast that he ended up in a different dimension," Nikki replied.

"So that solves the question of how we got here. What's the status of the ship?" Celeste asked Eva.

"We thankfully didn't sustain too much hull damage and the ship's cloaking is online and operational. I also managed to fix the ship's engines," Eva replied.

"Great, so we can get home then?" Amki asked.

"Not exactly. Apparently, in this dimension, my people nor my home planet exists in this universe, similar to Celeste's. In our dimension, I could hear the voices of my ancestors through my staff. But since they never existed here, I can't hear their voices and, therefore, can't call upon them to grant me the power to repeat how we arrived here," Rhea said.

"Wait. So, what you're saying is…"

"We're stranded here," I said, drawing concern from everyone except Celeste.

"Not exactly. It's true that we don't have the necessary power to get back home right now, but there is a way that we can," she said, pulling up a hologram of a glowing, spherical object with wires poking out of it.

"What's that?" Odango asked.

"It's called a 'Quantum Vortex Engine' or QVE for short. Back in our dimension, some scientists were trying to test a new way of achieving new speeds in hyperdrive, which led them to create this. However, when it came to testing the QVE with actual pilots, the scientists reported that the pilots went so fast that they disappeared into nothing. Because of that, they deemed the engine too dangerous and they shut down the project. However, the parts necessary to make the QVE have very high energy signatures. And lucky for us, I've been able to locate the parts needed for it in this dimension."

"So, what are we waiting for? Let's go get them!" Nikki said.

"That's the issue. They are hidden deep within Plantation 13. To make matters worse, we didn't end up in 2139. We actually ended up two years back and also a month before Hiro and Zero left to fight VIRM. The issue here is that trying to sneak in is a problem, given that they have access to an extremely large battalion of soldiers, and they are at the height of a bloody civil war that the humans are caught in the middle of. If we give away our position, we run the risk of getting caught," Celeste explained. As she was talking, me and Nikki broke away from the group to talk in private.

"I don't like the odds here. I mean, we're in a completely different world and we're in Hiro and Zero Two's own past. Plus, VIRM is still alive, which complicates things even further. And who knows how long the cloak's gonna last," Nikki said to me.

"We'll figure it out. Hiro and Zero Two have a good lay of the environment in front of us, so having them with us should help us locate the pieces for the QVE," I replied.

"But… Hiro and Zero Two…"

"I know. They've helped us so much throughout this journey, but we said that we would help them find a way home. Whether they want to stay or not is completely up to them."

"No, I mean… Hiro and Zero Two…" Nikki said, pointing to the drone console. They were gone.

**Hiro's perspective**

I started loading enough ammo and equipment onto one of the dropships in the hangar as we prepared to head out. Or at least we would have if Zero Two wasn't just standing around.

"Darling, what exactly are we doing?" she asked me.

"You saw what I saw on the screen. If this is actually real, then we may have a chance to save them! Don't you think that we should at least take this chance?" I asked as I clipped some grenades to my belt.

"Darling, I understand that you want to do this. But if we do, we might be upsetting some kind of delicate balance. We might even change our own destinies."

"Look, I just can't stop thinking about it! I've replayed that day in my head a thousand times and I can't stop thinking about it! I just feel like we should save them!"

"Save who?" a voice asked from behind us. Both me and Zero Two looked back to find Max and Nikki standing behind us with upset looks on their faces. I just continued to pack whatever I could onto the dropship.

"I don't expect you to understand," I replied.

"Then make me understand. What exactly is it that you're trying to accomplish?" Max asked me.

"Look. On this day… on THIS very day, two of our friends get married and are arrested by APE. As a result, they have their memories erased and forget all about what they shared. But, I figured that if we go over there and take out the army, we can prevent that from happening."

"And he didn't tell you about this?" Nikki asked.

"In his own way, he did," Zero Two replied.

"Hiro, I get why you want to do this. But the problem is we have no idea what will happen if you alter events," Max said.

"What are you talking about?"

"Hiro, if you change something in the past, it can damage what the outcome of the future will be. For example, if you went and saved your friends, they'd be on the run forever and that would create a reality where VIRM wins and the human race becomes extinct as a result! You would be destroying both their future AND your own!" Nikki said.

"Look, you don't know what it's like to wake up from a horrible memory and reminisce about how badly you failed! Well, we won't fail now!" I said. But before I could continue any further with packing, Zero Two grabbed my shoulder and tenderly hugged me as if she was trying to calm me down.

"Darling, I know it seems like they don't care, but they do. They're just trying to protect us, OK. I think about that day all the time too. But I moved on because there's nothing that we can do about it now. We can't change our past without damaging our future," Zero Two said softly. I just simply hugged her back as Max and Nikki looked on. But I noticed that Max seemed to have something on his mind.

"That's true but… what if we could change the past without damaging the future?" he asked, drawing confused looks from all three of us.

**Nikki's perspective**

"You want us to do WHAT?" Celeste asked.

"Mount a rescue mission. Plain and simple," Max replied. He had gathered everyone to sit around the hologram table while me, Hiro, and Zero Two sat off to the side.

"Max… You did explain to Hiro and Zero Two that we are in the past… THEIR past?"

"I did. But it got me thinking. If we're the ones that save Squad 13, it won't result in some kind of paradox or something. Plus, you said that we needed a way to draw attention away from the Centurion while we go get the QVE parts. See, nobody knows who we are here, which means that…"

"Enough, all right? It's out of the question. It's true that this will draw attention away from the Centurion, but it's also drawing attention toward US," Celeste replied.

"Plus, are we even sure that us messing with the past will actually change the future?" Amki asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Won't us messing with the past just create an alternate reality that's split from the main timeline which doesn't affect the main timeline?" Amki replied. Everybody in the room just looked at her like she was crazy.

"…Who the fuck told you that?!" I yelled.

"_Avengers: Endgame_."

"Wait, you saw that movie?" Max asked.

"Well, yeah. When the critics said it got 'universal acclaim', they REALLY meant universal acclaim."

"THAT IS NOT HOW TIME TRAVEL WORKS! OK, yes, the movie was great, but they got the whole time travel aspect wrong! If you change something in the past, it affects the future! This is goddamn common knowledge that practically EVERYBODY knows! How is that…"

"OK, Nikki, hon? You need to calm down. You're getting too charged," Max said, patting my shoulder.

"OK, then name one other movie that actually has your view of time travel down!" Amki replied crossing her arms.

"_Terminator_, _Timecop_, _A Wrinkle In Time_…" I said.

"_Star Trek_, _Back To The Future_…" Max added.

"_Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox_…"

"Songbird!" Zero Two exclaimed, raising her hand. Everyone just looked at her funny.

"Sorry, I thought that we were just naming random things here," Zero Two said, lowering her hand.

"All right, listen. I'm not going to risk our lives because of how complex all of this is. It just raises too many questions," Celeste said.

"It's actually not that complex," Rhea said.

"Wait, really?" Max asked.

"Allow me to demonstrate," Rhea said, creating a long thin line with her magic.

"Imagine that this line here is the current timeline. This point right here is the point where we are currently. If we were to alter the event at this point in the timeline, it would divert the flow of the timeline, therefore creating an altered timeline and an alternate future. However, if we were to cause another disruption within this altered timeline that's just as powerful as when we disrupted the original flow of time, which will redivert the flow back to the original timeline and the original future."

"Well, that doesn't sound that bad," I said.

"While that may be true, the matter of what event we create in this altered timeline is a mystery. We must be careful if we decide to go through with this," Rhea said.

"Well, if Rhea's demonstration and knowledge says that it will work, then I don't see that we have any other choice," Celeste said.

"OK, so we'll head over to Plantation 13 and save our Squad while you guys go and…" Hiro started to say.

"You're not going to Plantation 13," Max interrupted.

"What? Why?"

"If your past selves see you, you might cause a paradox or something. It's best if you guys get the QVE while we go rescue Squad 13," I replied.

"Huh. Well, I guess that seems fair. So, who's going with us?" Zero Two asked.

"Well, Eva and Odango have pretty good expertise in machines and Rhea can notify us if something starts to happens to you two. And just to deal with any security, I think that Eila and Goo should go with you as well. The rest of us will go help Squad 13," Max said.

"Wait, what happens if they see our faces? Wouldn't that also cause a paradox of some kind?" Rhonda asked.

"They won't. Max has a helmet that he can wear and I can create one for myself. And I'm pretty sure that Celeste has a few she can lend to Amki and you," I replied.

"OK, but isn't there something we can do about my extra arms? If they see them, they'll know that I'm not human," Amki said.

"I can help out with that, Amki," Celeste said.

"Well, we know our mission. Let's suit up," Max said. All of us headed to the hangar and began to suit up for the mission. Celeste set up one of the dropships to be able to carry passengers while Eva set up the other to allow her to make the QVE on the go. As me and Max were preparing the dropship, Hiro and Zero Two walked over to us.

"Hey, listen. Thanks so much for doing this," Hiro said.

"It's what friends do. We look out for each other," Max replied.

"Are guys sure that you still want to do this? It's not too late to back out of this if you aren't sure that we should do this," I said.

"If it means that Darling will be able to sleep better, then I think we should go for it," Zero Two said, snuggling up to Hiro's shoulder.

"Hiro, listen to me. If we do this, there's no going back. We only get one shot at this. There are no do-overs or second chances if we mess this up and we can't bring you back if something goes wrong," Max said.

"I know that you guys will succeed. If there's anyone that I'd trust to protect our Squad, it'd be you two," Hiro replied. Max just smiled and gave both Hiro and Zero Two a hug.

"Listen. Whether you want to stay or come back with us is completely up to you. I'm not going to make that decision for you."

"And we want you both to know how proud we are of how you've matured. We'll never forget you," I added. Hiro smiled back at us and took out the photo of his Squad.

"Futoshi, Zorome, Miku, Goro, Mitsuru, Kokoro, Ikuno, Ichigo. Those are their names. So don't forget, OK?" Hiro asked. Max gave him a nod in response before we started to board the dropship alongside Rhonda and Amki.

"HEY! Good luck, you two!" Zero Two called to us, giving us a thumbs up. I gave her a thumbs up back as the hangar doors opened and both ships took off into the unknown world that laid before us.

**Max's perspective**

The ride on our way to Plantation 13 was pretty bumpy, but we were able to get into the Plantation without too much trouble (Celeste apparently had some sort of phasing technology installed into the dropship, which I would've LOVED to have known how exactly she got her hands on it). We parked the dropship by the lake where Zero Two and Hiro met and made our way through the forest until the house was in sight. And we were in luck, because the wedding had just started as we hid in the dense foliage of the forest a few feet back. Mitsuru and Kokoro walked out in their wedding attire as their friends rang the wedding bells and threw sakura blooms at them.

"Wow. Hiro and Zero Two never said how beautifully they had set up the wedding," Nikki whispered next to me. While I will admit that the wedding did look very nice, the rest of the entire scenery just looked completely wrong. The fact that the Squad was being contained in a large glass dome make it look more like a prison rather than a safe haven for them.

"This place. It feels more like a prison. I don't know why they can't see that," I said with a hint of anger in my voice. I guess Nikki could tell because she put a hand on my shoulder.

"Max, are you OK?" she asked.

"I'm fine."

"Hey, I have a question. Why do we have codenames?" Amki asked, completely changing the subject.

"If they know who we are, we could inadvertently change the future. Plus, us posing as heroes of this world makes things a little bit easier for us," Celeste replied.

"OK, but why call me 'Spartan'? Wouldn't 'Powerhouse' or 'Muscle' have been much better?"

"We'll call you 'Powerhouse' if it'll make you feel better. Now will you focus please?" I said.

"One more question: Why the masks? I mean, I look practically human already. Also, Rhonda doesn't have a full mask. Just her hat and bandana," Amki replied.

"I already look human enough, Amki. My hat hides my extra eyes, so they won't suspect that I am an alien," Rhonda replied.

"All right, would you all focus? Listen, MAKE SURE that you protect Squad 13. You can kill the soldiers if you have to, but don't kill the 9's," I said.

"The who?" Amki asked.

"The 9's were Zero Two's old Squad. Basically they were APE's special police force," Nikki replied.

"Bottom line: Protect Squad 13 at all costs. Our rendezvous is at the lake, so if you get separated, head straight there. Rhonda, you stay behind and cover us from back here," Celeste said. As the wedding continued, I felt a sense of unease as we prepared for the worst.

"I hope this works," Nikki said as she activated her superspeed boots.

"Me too," I replied. As Kokoro and Mitsuru exchanged their rings, Celeste's proximity monitor began to silently beep as multiple dots appeared on it.

"We have hostiles. Approaching from the sides and inside the house," Celeste said. We all took that as a sign to get ready and prepared to attack.

"This is it. No turning back now," Nikki said, getting into a runners' stance.

"Wait for my mark," I said. As the soldiers bust out of the house and surrounded the Squad, Celeste, Amki, and I took cover behind a bush that was a bit closer to the group and got ready to strike. I kept a close watch on what was going on through the leaves.

"Run, you two!" Futoshi exclaimed, running in front of the couple. Kokoro was a bit reluctant to run, but Mitsuru grabbed her hand and they started to make a break for it, only for their way out to be cut off by 9a and his Squad.

"There is nowhere for you to go. You are trapped in a birdcage, after all," 9a said in his smug attitude.

"Why, you… What's the meaning of this?!" Mitsuru demandingly asked.

"Papa's orders. He says the two of you are dangerous. You need to be indoctrinated."

"NOW," I said. Within a split second of me saying those words, Nikki raced in a stabbed a bunch of the soldiers using her arm swords. Neither the soldiers nor the Squad knew what was going on and the remaining soldiers were unable to fight back because she was too fast. I noticed that the past Zero Two was running toward 9a before she took a swipe at him, which he dodged. Nikki managed to scoop the younger Zero Two up and set her back alongside the past Hiro. After Nikki had thinned out most of the soldiers, Amki and Celeste went on the offense. Amki barreled through them and crushed a few of the soldiers' heads while Celeste decapitated some of them with her katanas. The 9s were completely dumbfounded by the events unfolding around them, but they were unable to spot me in time before I grappled onto a nearby tree, swung up into the air and landed in front of them, creating a shockwave which blew them back. A couple of soldiers noticed me and moved in for the attack, but I grabbed the rifle of one soldier and pointed it back at his head, which shot his head clean off, and I stabbed the other in the head with my arm blade. I looked back at Kokoro and Mitsuru, who only showed me a look of fear as Mitsuru stood in front of Kokoro as if to protect her. In response, I extended an arm to them.

"Come with me if you want to live," I said. The couple just stared at me in disbelief, but Mitsuru gave me a small nod and took Kokoro by the hand as they followed me through the forest. A few soldiers began to fire on us, but my armor was too thick for their rifles to penetrate, which made me a perfect shield for the couple. I returned fire with my shotgun, grappling one with my grappling hook and cutting him in half with my arm blade and blowing up two more with my shoulder launcher grenades. I saw in the distance that Amki was carrying an unconscious Zorome while Celeste was busy sheltering the rest of the Squad and Nikki was running circles around the confused soldiers, killing each one as she ran through them. Rhonda shot down some of the soldiers with her semi-auto rifle and her revolver as we made our way back to the ship, throwing flashbangs to try and stun them. In a complete matter of seconds, we had turned this so-called "sanctuary" into a bloodied battlefield. To add insult to injury, the Squad's leader, Ichigo, grabbed one of the rifles from one of the fallen soldiers and began firing at them as we continued to make our way to the ship. Right as we had gotten to the ship, one soldier fired a shot that struck me right in the side of my visor, exposing one of my eyes. I was able to keep most of the soldiers at bay alongside everyone else, but when Rhonda shot one of the soldiers in the chest, his gun fell out of his hands and accidentally fired a shot that scraped Kokoro's ankle, causing her to stumble to the ground. Me and Mitsuru frantically did our best to shelter her from the soldiers, but we were soon overcome by a large hail of bullets that would've killed us had my armor not been dense enough. I began to feel the electricity surge throughout my body as my anger began to rise and I felt a sudden burning in my fist. The second one of the soldiers had gotten close to me, I threw a punch at him which pulverized him and suddenly released a shockwave of energy which vaporized all the remaining soldiers behind him. I literally had no idea what had just happened, but I barely even had time to question it because 9a was back and he came in towards me, ready to punch. I caught his fist with my hand and slowly forced him to the ground as I began to crush the bones in his hand. As he struggled to get free, something enticed me to draw my arm blade and press it up against 9a's neck. I don't know what it was that was telling me to do this, but it felt like the only logical thing to do to get our enemies' attention.

"Nomad! We need to go!" Celeste called to me from the ship as she began helping Squad 13 into the ship. I looked back at her for a second before looking back at 9a and retracting my blade. But I didn't let him off easy and grabbed him by the neck, letting him stare at me eye-to-eye.

"Do not follow us," I warned him before I threw him back into the forest. I then turned back to the ship and carried Kokoro inside before we left the ruins of the Plantation behind, disappearing into the sky as quickly as we appeared.

**Future Hiro's perspective**

Eila shocked the controls to the door as we stealthily made our way through the complex. It felt weird, finally being back home again. But that wasn't what was on my mind at the moment. Right now, I was trying to focus on the mission at hand. Eva was the one leading us to where the QVE parts were being stored, in the junk room near where our FRANXX were usually held. The trip there wasn't exactly easy, but without too much effort, we reached the chute that would take us there.

"Right down there. The energy signature is coming from down there," Eva said, looking down the chute.

"Down there? Down this hole?" Zero Two asked, looking down.

"Uhhh, yeah. How 'bout I just sit this one out and stay up here? You know, keep a lookout?" Odango said.

"You can't, because we'll be beaming out from the trash heap directly," Eva said.

"Plus, we need all the help that we can…" I started to say. But, all of a sudden, I felt a sharp pain in my head which forced me to my knees and made me grit my teeth. I noticed that Zero Two was also writhing in pain as she held her head. After about 15 or 20 seconds, the pain disappeared. I looked back up at Zero Two, who was panting heavily as she sat back up.

"Wha… what the hell was that?" I asked, rubbing my head.

"A temporal disturbance. If the past has been changed, your memories will adapt to whatever has been changed," Rhea said.

"Darling… your arm," Zero Two said, pointing at me. I looked down at my right arm and noticed that some bits and pieces of me were floating around my forearm, which was glowing an orange color. I saw that Zero Two had the exact same thing going on with her arm as well.

"And what does that mean?" Eva asked, pointing at my arm.

"Because both Hiro and Zero Two come from a future that does not exist at the moment, their new future is indeterminant and because of this, their current bodies do not know whether to break apart or stay tethered to the timeline. As long as Max and the others are able to keep the timeline on track and create an event that will set the future right, Hiro and Zero Two will remain in our present time," Rhea replied.

"And what happens if the future is changed?" I asked. Rhea just looked back at me with a concerned look.

"You both disappear into nothing," she replied. Everyone looked upset at that statement, but I just clenched my fist in determination.

"Listen, we can't worry about that right now. Either we get those parts for the engine or none of you will be able to get home. Squad 13 is in good hands right now and it's our job to secure the parts for the QVE," I said.

"Hiro is right. We will let Max and the others worry about Squad 13. Right now, we have our own mission. So let's get going," Eva said. She positioned herself above the chute and after Goo had attached herself to her, she dropped down and was followed by Eila, Rhea, and Odango, leaving only me and Zero Two left. I took the photo of our Squad and looked at it again. I couldn't help but wonder… would our Squad actually be OK, being with Max, Nikki, and the others? Would they actually be able to secure our future? Zero Two gently placed her hand on my own and touched the photo along with me.

"Darling, this is gonna work," she told me.

"I know it will. 'Cause I don't know what I'm going to do if it doesn't," I replied as I put the photo away. Zero Two then grabbed my hand and we both fell down the chute into the junk heap to begin our search.

**Max's perspective**

"The mission at Plantation 13 was a success. They've scrambled the soldiers to look for the Squad," Celeste said as I repaired my helmet.

"How exactly is that good for us?" Amki asked as I put my helmet back on.

"It means that they won't be able to find us. Our ship is non-trackable and we're cloaked right now, so their cameras can't find out where we're going," Nikki said.

"Which means we can breathe a bit easier now," Rhonda added.

"Only for a while. Rhea said that we need to create an event that will set the timeline back to the original future and we still need to do that," I said.

"And HOW exactly are we supposed to do that?" Amki asked as I began to walk out.

"I'm trying to figure that out. But right now, I need to make sure that the Squad's doing OK."

"Max, wait. We should talk," Nikki said, stopping me.

"About what?"

"What exactly happened back there? I mean, one second you were just fine and the next, you shot some kind lightning shockwave out of your fist and you nearly killed 9a! What is going on with you?"

"I don't know. But we can't worry about that right now. Right now, we need to focus on the mission at hand and get this done," I replied. I then headed out the door to find all of Squad 13 sitting melancholy in their seats, safe for Mitsuru, who was trying to help Kokoro with her injured leg, and Zorome, who was still unconscious. As for the rest of the group, they had mixed looks aimed toward me. Ichigo, Miku, and Zero Two had looks of disgust while Hiro, Goro, Ikuno, and Futoshi had looks of concern as I went to help Mitsuru.

"Where does it hurt?" Mitsuru asked as he felt around Kokoro's leg. When he got to her ankle, Kokoro let out a small yelp in pain and cringed a bit.

"It hurts…" Kokoro said. Just as I grabbed the first aid kit, Zorome woke up… screaming.

"OH MY GOSH! I just had this crazy dream that we were all at this thing called a 'wedding' and right as Kokoro and Mitsuru were about to kiss, we got attacked and then we…" he yelled. But the second he saw me, he went completely silent and he hid behind where Ikuno was sitting.

"Umm… who's the guy in the robot suit?" Zorome squeaked.

"Got me," Ikuno replied. I just rolled my eyes and wrapped Kokoro's leg with a bandage, trying to be gentle.

"It's just a scrape. You should be fine after a few hours. Until then, just stay off of it for now," I said, before I got back up to leave.

"WAIT! Who are you?" Ichigo asked right as I was about to walk through the door.

"That's not important," I replied.

"Yes, it is! You just show up out of nowhere and you expect us to just trust you?"

"Ichigo, he saved our lives. The least we can do is show him some respect," Goro said, putting his hands on her shoulders. Ichigo just swatted his hands away.

"Are you a Parasite?" Kokoro asked.

"I was. Once. They called me 052," I replied.

"And now what do you do? Just go to random Plantations abducting other Parasites and killing soldiers that get in your way?" Ichigo asked.

"Those soldiers would've killed you. I did what I could to protect you," I said.

"What do you mean?" Mitsuru asked.

"I've been watching your Squad for some time now. How you've been fighting. How you've been maturing. But, most importantly, how you've been discovering how life SHOULD be lived."

"Did Haichi send you?" Ichigo asked me.

"It was my own decision to come and rescue you. I didn't need your caretaker to tell me what to do," I replied.

"So, you're a rebel," Zero Two said.

"That's a harsh way to put it."

"Wait a minute. You've been watching us all this time and you just decided to show yourself when we were about to be arrested?" Miku asked.

"Guys, why are you getting upset at him?! APE was the one who sent the soldiers and he saved us from them! Who knows what would've happened if he didn't show up!" Futoshi said.

"It doesn't matter if he saved us or not! Haichi was supposed to help us leave, not him! Plus, he was responsible for the deaths of several of those soldiers!" Ichigo retorted.

"What did you think was going to happen? Hm?" I said gruffly.

"What?"

"Do you understand the expense that APE went through to keep you locked up in that prison? You think that they're just gonna let you walk away? They expect us to just stay in line and ask questions never. Because that's all that they think we are. Mere SOLDIERS. But we're more than that."

"It's just like the Garden. They don't want us to be happy. They expect us to live the lives THEY want us to, not what WE want to," Hiro said, drawing sad faces from Kokoro and Mitsuru and concerned faces from Ikuno and Goro.

"Hiro, you can't be serious! This person just killed a bunch of soldiers, had one of the 9's at knifepoint, and you're just going to TRUST him?" Ichigo asked, accusingly pointing a finger at me.

"I'm not doing this for personal gain. I'm doing this because I'm human and it's the right thing to do," I said.

"Then prove it. Take off that helmet and show us who you really are. If you claim that you are human, then prove it to us!"

"Look. I respect what you stand for. And you may be leader of this team… but I don't take orders from you. If you want to get out of this alive, you listen to me and do what I say," I replied. I felt a sudden thud and I immediately walked over to the hangar door, pushing past Ichigo. She went in to hit me, but both Futoshi and Hiro stopped her from doing so. I pressed the button to the hangar door, which opened and revealed a beach to me and Squad 13.

"Wait, why are we here?" Zorome asked.

"We'll be staying here until I can figure out what to do next. As a recall, you found an abandoned town here," I replied.

"Wait, you're ditching us?!" Miku asked.

"He didn't say that, Miku," Mitsuru said.

"Listen! I don't care if you're older than me or surpass me in rank, I'm the leader of this Squad! You don't have the right to boss me around! And you have NO right to keep us here against our will!" Ichigo yelled at me.

"Then, by all means. Leave if you want. I understand why you don't trust me. But you won't get anywhere without us. And you won't be save until you're far away from APE's prying eyes. That's all any of us can do now," I said.

"Look, I don't mean to be rude, but… what exactly did they do to you?" Ikuno asked. I just stood there in silence for five seconds before I looked back at them.

"They took everything from me," I replied before I walked out of the ship in silence.

**Future Hiro's perspective**

"Nope. Nope. Nope," Zero Two said, tossing out each part that wasn't what we were looking for. Eva, Odango, and Rhea were all searching in separate areas for any part to the QVE that they could find. So far, Eva had found 3 of the 7 parts that we were looking for and I found 1. I was kinda distracted from everything because of my arm, which I was fiddling around with.

"Hey, Darling. Is this one of the parts we need?" Zero Two said, holding up a rectangular part with wires coming out of its sides.

"Yeah, that's one of them," I said, grabbing the part. As I was examining it, Zero Two sat down beside me, looking at me with curiosity.

"What's on your mind?"

"Just… thinking about how our Squad is doing with Max and the others. They probably don't trust them. Max and the others must be in agony from trying to take care of them."

"Or they're probably in agony from how loud and obnoxious Zorome is," Zero Two joked. I couldn't help but chuckle at that.

"Hey! I found the last two parts! Can we leave now?" Odango asked. Eva took a look at both of the parts that Odango had found and gave us a nod. Me, Zero Two, Eila, and Goo gathered over to where the others were and Eva activated the teleporter which took us back to our dropship. Eva then put the parts on a small workbench that was positioned in the middle of the ship and started to work on constructing it.

"It will take me a few minutes to get this fully assembled. But we should get moving," she said.

"Do you mind if we take the ship somewhere before we head back to the Centurion?" Zero Two asked.

"Where?"

"Plantation 13. Just for a quick visit."

"Zero Two, that place could be crawling with soldiers. Plus, if any of them see you and capture you, you could alter the timeline even further," Rhea objected.

"Just a quick in and out. We'll be careful," Zero Two replied. Rhea just had a depressed look on her face.

"All right, fine. Just for a few minutes."

"And if there ARE any soldiers, we'll just stay away," I said.

"All right then. To Planation 13 it is then," Rhea said as Odango plotted a course to the Plantation. As we were taking off, I stood in the cockpit and stared out the window for a bit.

"Are you sure that Max and the others can handle the Squad?" Zero Two asked, putting a hand on my shoulder. I just sighed.

"We can only hope right now," I said as we sped towards Plantation 13.

**Ikuno's perspective**

"I don't trust him," Ichigo said.

"Well, there's a surprise," Miku replied, sarcastically. We were all assembled inside the dropship that had brought us to the sanctuary. Unfortunately, Ichigo wasn't exactly keen on staying here like some of us were.

"Well, he seemed to be on the up-and-up. I mean, he did save Kokoro and Mitsuru," Futoshi replied.

"Still, someone who will kill without so much as a second thought doesn't really sound like a good thing in my book," Ichigo said.

"Well, it's better for us to be with him rather than going back to APE and getting punished for our actions," Goro said.

"Plus, I wanna know where he got that armor. I bet I could do all sorts of cool stuff if I had armor like that," Zorome said.

"We're being hunted down by our superiors and our only salvation lies with a killer… and THAT'S what you're concerned about?" Miku asked, giving Zorome a sour look.

"I'm just saying. Armor like really fits my complexity."

"Look, whatever the case is, we can't go back now. And we owe it to him to keep working with him until we can be sure that we're safe," Kokoro said.

"Plus, are we even sure that Nomad doesn't feel any guilt from the killing?" I asked. Ichigo gave me an angry look.

"You're naming him now?!" she yelled.

"That's what his team called him. Why can't I?"

"Look, bottom line, whether he's a killer or not, we need to trust him now," Hiro said.

"That's not the point, Hiro! We already had a plan to leave the Plantation! But it didn't involve him! So either he stole us away from our home for a reason or he's…" Ichigo started to say.

"All right that's enough! Do you think that any of us asked for this?! He did what was necessary for us to escape! You don't owe him a cold shoulder, you owe him a thank you! And by my recollection, you fired on the soldiers as we were leaving! So what's you're excuse?!" I yelled. The entire cabin went quiet after I said that and Ichigo just sat down with her hands on her head in despair.

"I just… all of this is hard to take in… I don't know who to trust anymore…"

"Let's just take a few hours to calm down and relax. When that's done, we'll discuss what to do next," Mitsuru said. All of agreed and went out to try and settle down a bit. I went along with Kokoro and Mitsuru to try and find where Nomad was and after a bit of searching, we found him by the shoreline, washing the blood off of his arm blade and his hands. Kokoro accidentally stepped on a twig as we approached him, which made him immediately reach for his gun, but when he saw us, he stopped himself short and stood up.

"You shouldn't sneak up on people like that," he said.

"Sorry. We just wanted to see how you were doing. And we wanted to thank you for rescuing us," Kokoro said.

"Don't mention it."

"Sorry about Ichigo's behavior. I know that you were only doing what you could to protect us," Mitsuru said.

"Think nothing of it. I understand why she's angry. Yet, that's the way of APE: to betray those they trust and deny them any happiness," Nomad said.

"You said that they took everything from you. What exactly did they take from you, if you don't mind my asking?" I asked. Nomad just looked back out at the ocean and sighed.

"Back when I was still a Parasite, I started to develop feelings for my partner. She was the most beautiful person I ever knew… blonde hair, blue eyes, the most precious smile known to man. What we shared was sacred to us both, but what she wanted most in life was to be free. Free from the control of APE, so we could forge our own destiny. So we made a plan to leave our Plantation and start a life together. But by the time we were ready, APE had already discovered the bond that we shared and they arrested us. I was able to escape them, but my partner didn't and her memories were erased. All that I could do was flee. I found this armor in some kind of abandoned village much like the one here and I vowed that I would save any other Parasites so that we could finally have what APE stole from all of us…"

"The chance to have a normal life," Kokoro said.

"Is that even possible?" I asked. Nomad just sighed and took off his helmet, revealing the face of a man with brown hair and green eyes to us.

"APE acts like they know what they're doing and that the way of life that they taught us is how we should live. But, if you ask me, it's inhumane. Their so-called 'cure' of immortality? It's not living. It's suffering. And they're having us fight a war that doesn't seem to end. None of us ever asked for any of that," he said.

"So why the killing? Couldn't there have been other ways to be heard? To show that we aren't afraid?" Mitsuru asked.

"I don't kill because I take pleasure in it. I do it to survive. To show APE that I'm not afraid of them. I doesn't matter who wins this war. All that I want is my freedom. And if I have to free every single Parasite that there is and spill the blood of the Seven Sages just to find peace, so be it."

"Look, I respect that you want us and everyone else to have normal lives, but is destroying the Seven Sages REALLY the only way that you'll find peace?" I asked. Nomad just put his helmet back on and began to walk away in sadness.

"That's all that I have left to give," he said, putting his hand on my shoulder. And then he left in silence, leaving me to figure out what we should do next.

**3****rd**** person perspective, APE headquarters**

Papa and the rest of the Sages looked curiously at the recording of the armored figure defending Squad 13. The way he and his team fought, his brutality, every bit of him looked like the perfect warrior. Standing beneath them, Alpha and the 9's were standing silently, waiting to hear what they had to say.

"This warrior… how many men did you say he killed?" Papa asked Alpha.

"Almost 40. His combat was unlike anything I've ever seen. He made a whole bunch of soldiers seem like insects. And those eyes… those crimson eyes. I could feel them piercing my soul," Alpha replied.

"And yet, he spared you. Why?" Marmoset asked.

"I haven't the foggiest idea."

"Well, he's most certainly not in league with the klaxosaurs. But if he's not with them, then who is he working for?" Baboon asked.

"Find them. Be sure to prepare them to be indoctrinated if you capture them," Vice Chairman said. Alpha and the 9's then left the station and Papa turned his attention back to the hologram, where it showed the warrior creating a shockwave of energy which vaporized the soldiers. The sight of it made the Sages gasp in awe.

"Remarkable. A soldier like that would most certainly be a wonderful addition to the Parasite program. In fact, that armor could be a wonderful addition for the soldiers we have," Gorilla said. Papa ignored him and replayed the section of the warrior creating the energy shockwave again and again.

"Is something amiss?" Marmoset asked.

"No. It's just that the energy seems to be emanating from his fist, not the suit. As if it's coursing through his body and he is able to summon it at will," Papa replied.

"Where exactly does a human get such energy like that?" Vice Chairman asked.

"Whatever the case, Gorilla is right. If we can find the source of his power, it won't just change the war. IT WILL CHANGE EVERYTHING."

**To Be Continued…**


	13. Chapter 13: Outta Dimension Part 2

HuniePop Space Adventures

Chapter 13: Outta Dimension Part 2

I stared up at the sky in disappointment. One minute, everything was going just fine, the next we were wanted fugitives and our lives were in the hands of a so-called "hero" and his team. However, I couldn't help but wonder if going back was the right thing or if it was worse than what we got. The rest of the Squad thought that he was trustworthy enough, so why did I think that-

"Having trouble relaxing?" a voice said to me. I looked to the side and saw Nomad standing next to me with his arms crossed.

"How can I relax? We've been stolen from our home, we're being hunted by APE and you're the only one protecting us from them. I don't even know who to trust at this point," I replied, sitting up.

"I understand why you don't trust me. All I'm asking is that you try."

"Try? That's a pretty strong word coming from you. I mean, why even risk your life for us?"

"Because it's who we are. Why exactly do we pilot those FRANXX? To protect the Plantations. And what are we doing when we protect the Plantations?"

"Protecting people. This isn't news to me."

"My point is that you know what your mission is when you pilot that FRANXX alongside your team. And it hasn't changed ever since you first piloted. But what's as important as protecting people is protecting your team. That's one of the most important jobs a leader has. As leaders, it's our job to be a shield not just to others, but also to our team. Even in the face of danger, even when teamed up with an unlikely ally, you need to make decisions that benefit them," Nomad said. I just sighed. He WAS right. As a leader, the safety of my team was the most important thing to me and seeing any of them hurt was something I couldn't live with. But… was killing really the best way to do that?

"Look, it's not that I don't trust you because you're a stranger who's just trying to protect us. The reason I don't trust you is because your tactics are brutal. You act like you have no remorse for killing people and you don't care what happens to them," I said.

"I do have remorse for my actions. But every day, whenever I think about my partner and what APE did to her, I can't hold back my emotions. I'm a slave to my anger and I can't fight against it."

"There is ALWAYS a better way! I'm sorry for what they did to your partner, but killing isn't always the answer! APE might be the cause of everyone's suffering but all the death isn't necessary!"

"Well, let me ask you something. If you were given the opportunity to be free, would you just run away? Or would you stand and fight? Think about it," Nomad said before he walked away in silence. As he left, Goro walked over to me.

"What were you two talking about?" Goro asked.

"He was… just giving me advice," I replied.

"Advice about what?"

"How we can earn our freedom."

**Nikki's perspective**

You know, Max was right about these Plantations. No matter where I ran, I didn't see any way out in the sides of it. It felt more like a prison than a safe haven. Right now, I was busy doing laps around the perimeter to make sure that nobody had found us, periodically running through the abandoned village to see if anything was amiss. During my fifth run through the town, I noticed one of the Squad mates, Futoshi, sitting down beside one of the houses with a sad look on his face. Wondering what was going on, I walked over and sat down beside him.

"Something on your mind?" I asked. Futoshi just looked up at me for a second before looking back at the ground.

"No. Everything's fine," he replied, sniffling a bit.

"Are you sure? You look a little depressed."

"It's just that… today's been the worst so far. We had a whole wedding for Mitsuru and Kokoro that was ruined and now we're being hunted down by APE. I just feel so depressed."

"You know, I saw you protect Kokoro and Mitsuru earlier. That was a very brave thing for you to do."

"Thanks, but… I feel like I didn't do enough to protect them. I should've done more."

"Against a whole squadron of armed soldiers? Giving them a chance to escape was the best thing you could do… but you're not exactly depressed about just that, are you? It's more than that," I said. I saw the tears started to run down Futoshi's face as he brought his knees up to his face.

"I was her partner before Mitsuru. We were partners for so long that I wanted it to be that way forever. But, when Mitsuru became ill, Kokoro offered to be his partner even though I promised her that I'd protect her. Mitsuru didn't care at first but before long, they fell in love and now… I just don't know anymore…" Futoshi said, crying. I sadly sighed at how hurt he felt. Hoping to cheer him up, I took off my helmet and gently sat down right next to him.

"Futoshi, I can understand how heartbreaking that must be. But, from what I've seen today, you bravely protecting them from those soldiers, you don't need to be her partner in order to protect her. If you made her a promise to protect her, you should honor that promise and continue doing it. Plus, she's your friend. She'll love you no matter what. And truth be told, she couldn't have asked for a better friend than you," I said, hugging him. Futoshi just silently hugged me back and smiled.

"Thank you," he replied.

**Future Hiro's perspective**

"We're approaching the Plantation now," Eva said as she positioned the dropship on the side of Plantation 13, which looked exactly the same as when we left it. I was in complete awe at how long ago it looked that way. It felt like me and Zero Two were finally returning home after being away for so long.

"It looks just as beautiful as I remember it," Zero Two said, looking out the window. As Odango began scanning the Plantation for any soldiers that could be combing the area, I stared out the window again at our old home. But, looking back, it didn't really look like a home anymore.

"Hiro, are you sure you want to go back?" Eva asked me.

"Just for a quick in-and-out. If we stay while APE's still looking for us, they might learn about the future of our world and it might change the future. Better to wait until this whole thing blows over before going back for good," I replied. Before long, the radar gave a small ding accompanied by a green light flashing.

"The area's clear! You are a go for teleportation!" Odango said, giving me a thumbs-up. I just chuckled and put my gear on.

"Remember… just a quick in-and-out," Eva said.

"Well, let's not waste any more time then," I said. But before we could be teleported out, Zero Two dropped her staff and a look of horror came over her face as we all looked at her in confusion.

"Darling… I don't feel so good," she said before she fell to the ground.

"Zero Two!" I yelled, running over to help her. But as I reached to grab her hand, it began to slowly disintegrate. As I began to inspect her hand, I noticed that the same thing was happening to me, only it was happening to my forearm.

"What's happening?!" I asked in a complete panic as the disintegration slowly moved up my arm.

"Something must be happening to the timeline which seems to result in the demise of both of you! Something must be wrong!" Rhea said as she used her magic to try and slow down the disintegration to no avail.

"I thought you said that if the timeline wasn't fixed then this would happen!" Eva said.

"This phenomenon serves as a warning when something falls too far outside of the original timeline. It's possible that the younger Zero Two and Hiro are making a decision that will permanently alter the future. Unless we can stop them, Hiro and Zero Two will vanish into nothing!"

"OK, and HOW do we stop it?!" Odango asked in a complete panic.

"Call Max and the others! Tell them what's happening!" Eva said as I held Zero Two with my other arm.

"I don't want you to go…" Zero Two said as the tears ran down her face and she continued to disintegrate.

"It's gonna be OK. I'm not going anywhere," I said.

**Past Zero Two's perspective**

"Zero Two, where are we going?!" Darling said as we ran through the abandoned village.

"We need to leave this place! Everyone's at risk as long as we're here!" I said.

"What are you talking about? Aren't we better off staying here?"

"Darling, we need to let Haichi know that we're OK so he can get us out of here!"

"And what if that doesn't work? What if APE finds us instead?" Darling asked.

"We have to try! It's our only shot at getting out of here! Now, come on, let's go!" I said. But before we could even get out of the town, Nomad's weapon specialist, Haywire, sped through and stopped right in front of us, blocking our path.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked. Darling started to answer but I stopped him from doing so and walked up to Haywire.

"We're leaving. And there's nothing you can do to stop us," I said. But as I started to walk around her, she swiftly picked me up and set me back beside Darling. I tried to make a run for it again, but she did the exact same thing, placing me right beside Darling again.

"Where exactly are you gonna go? There's nothing out there," Haywire said.

"That's not what we're trying to do! We're trying to save everyone and our only way is to tell Haichi!"

"APE monitors Haichi like everyone else! If you tell him our location, APE will know as well and we might not be able to protect you then! Staying here is the only safety we have until we can figure out what to do next!"

"You've done enough already! It's our turn to fight back against them for the cowards that they are!" I insisted.

"You're missing the point," a voice said. Darling, Haywire, and I turned to see Nomad standing on the roof before he jumped down and walked over to us.

"What exactly is the point that we're missing?" I asked.

"You're not just leaving… you're abandoning your friends here," Nomad replied.

"I call it giving them a chance."

"And what happens if you leave? What happens if APE finds you? They'll probe your minds and find out where the rest of your Squad is hiding and nothing will be able to protect them then. Not even us."

"Zero Two, he's right. We can't just leave the Squad here. We have to help them," Darling said.

"And we will! But we can't just sit here and do nothing! And if want to stop us, you're gonna have to shoot us," I said, walking away.

"You have no idea how important you are, do you?" Nomad said. Those words alone made me stop in my tracks and I looked back at him.

"What are you talking about?"

"You remember that I told I was watching you for some time? I learned of your reputation as the so-called 'Partner-Killer' and your previous partners. But when I saw Hiro survive his third ride with you, I knew."

"Knew what?" Darling asked.

"I knew that you two could turn the tide of the war. Every battle you won, every Klaxosaur you killed… it was because of the bond that you two shared. Like a sword that cut down your enemies as long as you both were holding the handle. But you weren't just a sword for your team… you were also a shield that kept them and any others from harm. If you leave now, if APE were to erase your memories, all hopes of us winning this war would be gone. You two are the strongest fighters that Earth has and all our hopes lie with you and your Squad. Look, I won't stop you if you think that this is the right thing to do, but I telling you that there are times when facing the problem head on isn't always a good idea," Nomad replied.

"Zero Two… he's right. This is something we can't just run from. Our Squad still needs us," Darling said, resting his hand on my shoulder. I don't know why, but I felt that I was repeating history again, risking our lives just so we could run away. Like I was making the same mistakes again. I began to cry a bit as Darling put his arms around my body to comfort me.

"I just… thought that it would be helpful if we did this so we wouldn't burden you," I said.

"Look, your heart's in the right place. But staying here is the best way to keep you and your team safe. That's why we're here. To protect you and your team," Haywire said. I couldn't help but hug her in response as I continued to cry a bit. As I continued to hug Haywire, I noticed that Nomad had two of his fingers on his helmet and was nodding in response to something.

"We should be heading back now before the team sends out a search team," he said. As he started to walk away, I ran over to him and gave him a hug.

"Thank you. Thank you for helping us," I said. Nomad's only response was to gently caress my head to comfort me.

**Rhonda's perspective**

Lemme tell ya, I don't remember the last time I did target practice. Not that I really needed to, but it never hurt to do it again. As I was in the middle of it, I saw Celeste walkin' up to me.

"Gunslinger," she said.

"What's up, Harbinger? What was all the ruckus about earlier?" I asked her.

"Zero Two and Hiro nearly left. But Nomad and Haywire were able to convince them to stay. Their future selves are all right… for now."

"Gotta give them credit… they're way more persuasive than I thought. So, have we figured out a way to set things back on track?" I asked as I shot one of the rocks off the wall.

"We're still trying to figure that out. I actually need to head back to the ship to make sure everything's in order. I just wanted to see how you were doing," Celeste said.

"I'm doin' OK here. Just don't leave here without me alright?" I asked. Celeste just chuckled and nodded before leaving me alone to continue training. But right as I was in the middle of reloading my gun, I heard the slight rustling of footsteps behind me. After I had finished reloading, I turned and shot the wall beside the intruder's head, only for the intruder to be Zorome and his partner, Miku. Thankfully, I didn't hit him, but I sure as hell scared him.

"What the hell's your problem?!" Miku yelled at me.

"I could ask you the same thing. You can't just sneak up on people like that," I said. Zorome adjusted his clothes and stood up lookin' all full of himself.

"Well, we were just passing through, seeing what we could see. And we heard all that noise and wondered what you were doin'," Zorome said.

"That so? 'Cause what I'm doing is target practice. Ever heard of it?"

"Not that I know of. But why are you practicing?" Miku asked.

"Just in case the fight comes here or we take the fight to them. Either way, it's always best to be prepared," I replied.

"Well, if it comes down to it, you can count on 'Zorome the Great' to lead you guys into the fray!" Zorome said, flexing his muscles. I could see Miku making a disgusted face at him.

"Then you're an idiot."

"What?"

"You think that your attitude alone will help you in the fight, bein' all cocky and half-assed? That's the easiest way to get yourself killed in a fight. I'd know because I used to be the same way when I was younger," I said.

"Wait… you?" Miku asked.

"Yeah. Made a LOT o' bad decisions that nearly got my team killed. When Nomad came to get me out, he taught me not just how to fight without a FRANXX, but also a lesson about humility. He taught me that the decisions I make always affect others," I said, drawing upset faces from the two of them. There actually was some truth to what I told them. Back when I was still trying to take down Dolarhyde, my first mission didn't go as intended. My first revolver got busted up, I got shot in the leg, and the Dolarhyde's contact shot himself before I could ask him any questions.

"So… what is it that you're trying to say?" Zorome asked me.

"Try to plan out how you're going to approach a challenge. Don't just rush in shooting wildly. Protect your team above all else. That's all there is to it."

"I feel like it's more complicated than that," Miku said.

"Well, it's up to you whether you want to make it complicated or not. In the long run, it comes down to the choices you make," I replied. I noticed that Zorome was staring down at my gun like he was beggin' me to teach him.

"Y'know… since you two are here… how 'bout I teach you both how to shoot a gun?"

"Wait, what?!" Zorome asked, surprised. I just chuckled, handed him the gun, and helped him take aim at one of the targets I had set up.

"It's simple. Just clear your mind for this moment, then set your sights on where you want to shoot. Deeply inhale and when you've got your target in sight, exhale and pull the trigger," I said. Zorome did exactly as I told him and managed to hit the target, albeit he nearly missed it.

"Whoa, Zorome! You hit it!" Miku cheered.

"I… actually did! Wow!" Zorome replied, smiling.

"Not bad for a first try. Now… again!" I said before Zorome took aim again.

**Future Zero Two's perspective**

"Where is it? WHERE IS IT?" I asked as I searched the bedroom. I was looking for a long-lost item… a flower crown that Miku made for me to symbolize our friendship. After about a few minutes of searching, I found it sitting underneath the bed. I smiled and hugged it tight while trying not to ruin it and headed back out to the main hall to get Darling so we could leave. But when I got there, I saw him sitting melancholy at the foot of the steps like his head was in the clouds.

"Is everything OK?" I asked, sitting down next to him.

"I'm fine," Darling replied.

"You're not having another disintegration spell, are you?"

"No, I'm just… thinking."

"About what?"

"About what's been going on around us. We ended up in a completely different world, we fought against all sorts of enemies, and now our friends are rewriting our own past. And this has all been happening within the last two weeks."

"Well, we got around pretty fast."

"But, above all else, I've been thinking about how much Max and Nikki have done for us. They've done a lot to help us and they didn't hesitate to help change our past," Darling said.

"Well, they hesitated a bit because if the future isn't set back in place, POOF! We disappear," I replied, leaning back a bit.

"What I'm saying is, it feels like they were more than our friends. It felt like they were… our parents."

"So what does that make me? Your sister? …You actually had sex with your sister?"

"No, not like that! My point is that they've been teaching us more than what APE ever taught us. How to fight. How to protect. How to forgive each other. I just feel like we owe it all to them for getting us to this point."

"Darling… what is it that you're trying to say?" I asked. Darling just stood up and stared out the window of the house in complete silence.

"We can't stay here," he finally said. That answer made my eyes widen in surprise.

"I thought that you wanted to come back here in the first place."

"I thought that I wanted to stay as well. But, they've done so much for us and we're gonna repay them by just leaving them and staying here?! We can't do that! Plus, if we stay here until after the war, what happens when we show up? The Squad will want to know where we've been and how we got back. And believe me, it would be extremely hard to explain!"

"They would understand. And I'm sure they would be happy to see us no matter what the circumstances are."

"But, more importantly, they wouldn't have gotten to this point without us. They're stronger when we're with them and I feel that us helping would be appreciated."

"Except that's not the only reason why you want to go back, is it?" I asked. Darling looked back at me like I accused him of something that he was hiding.

"What are you talking about?" he replied.

"You know what I'm talking about. You want your vengeance on HIM," I said. Darling looked down at the ground, looking guilty.

"The Overlord hurt you. Tried to kill you. I just… can't let something like that go unavenged."

"Do you think that Max is incapable of doing that? He promised you that he would take care of it, didn't he?"

"But that's not the only reason why I think we should go back and fight him. He actually knows that we're not from his universe, that we're from someplace completely different. And, if he wins, when he's done destroying what's left of that dimension, where do think he'll go next?"

"Darling, I don't know if he'll even be capable of doing that. And besides, Max and Nikki would probably be able to stop him, even if we didn't stay here."

"That's just the thing! I don't want to just live in fear and restraint like we used to! I want to be useful to someone instead of just being useless. And it'll be on us if they die because…" Darling started to protest. But I immediately drew him in for a kiss to shut him up. He was a bit tense at first, but his expression softened and he wrapped his arms around me even after I broke away from the kiss.

"You worry too much. I know that it feels like you're not doing enough, but you ARE. Whether it was trying to help them or trying to save me from my own madness, you always proved yourself, no matter what the obstacles were. And I love that about you. Plus, Max said that the decision is up to us whether we stay here or go back and fight alongside them."

"I know that. I just feel that helping them would be the right thing to do."

"Bottom line: Whatever decision you make, I'll follow you until the end of time. We're partners. We stick together, no matter what," I said, putting my hand on Darling's cheek. He just smiled and kissed me again until I heard Eva's voice over the comms.

"Zero Two, are you both finished? If you linger there any longer, you might attract some attention," she said.

"Yeah, we're all set. You can bring us back now," I replied before two columns of light surrounded me and Darling and we were teleported back up to the ship.

**Max's perspective**

Staring out across the landscape of the abandoned town felt like I was confined here for a crime that I didn't commit. I mean, that wasn't actually the case, but I still felt a bit uneasy about the whole situation. As I stood there, I looked down at my arm, which still had a bit of electricity surging around it. What the hell was going on with me? I knew that the Infernite energy would make me feel more enraged than normal, but what happened back at Plantation 13 had never happened to me before and I felt that this was only the start of something horrible. My thoughts were interrupted by Nikki, who sped up the side of the building that I was on and stopped right beside me.

"You feeling OK?" she asked me.

"I'm fine," I replied, looking back out at the horizon.

"This is all so weird, you know? A whole other world separate from ours and this is what became of it. It's just all so crazy, huh?"

"Yeah… I guess it is."

"Max, what's wrong? Are you sure that you're OK?"

"Nothing has been OK since this whole thing started. We're stuck in another dimension running from APE, we've been running from an intergalactic tyrant in our dimension, and to top it all off, I'm infected with an evil I can't control. I've turned into a complete monster."

"Max, you're not perfect. But you're no monster either. Look, what happened back there, that wasn't your fault."

"How was it NOT my fault? I shot a lightning shockwave from my fist and incinerated a whole battalion of soldiers. That doesn't just happen."

"Well, maybe it's like a defense. The energy probably reacted to you being in distress and… yeah, I don't know either. But, what I do know is that you're a good person and those kids couldn't have asked for better protection from anyone else other than you."

"That may be true, but those soldiers were just following orders from an alien species that has them fooled. And when you think about it, are we any better than them? We've gone from killing Infernites to evil alien soldiers and now we're killing humans. From my point of view, we aren't much better than they are," I said, sitting down on the ledge.

"Look… you're right and I feel just as strongly about this as you do. But we're doing this just to defend ourselves. We do what we need to survive, right?" Nikki said, sitting next to me. I just drew her in and held her tightly for a few seconds until Celeste called us over the comms.

"Max, Nikki, you there?" she said.

"Yeah, what's up?" I asked.

"You need to come back to the ship now."

"Why? What's wrong?" Nikki asked.

"Ichigo has asked to see you," Celeste replied. Both me and Nikki exchanged confused and worried looks before heading back to the ship. When we got there, we found Ichigo staring at some kind of structure on the holo-table alongside Hiro and Goro while the rest of the Squad was sitting in the chairs like they were waiting for something. As soon as I approached the holo-table, Ichigo turned her attention to me.

"You wanted to see me?" I asked.

"I did. I wanted to talk about what we should do next," Ichigo answered.

"Look, dude, can you try and talk her out of this? It's suicide!" Zorome yelled to me.

"What's he talking about?" I asked.

"I've been thinking about what you said to me earlier and you're right. It's about time that we stood up for our freedom and we took down APE once and for all. And I've devised a way that we can do that," Ichigo replied, walking back over to the holo-table.

"Are you insane?"

"Look, you said in a way that we'll never have our freedom as long as APE is running things."

"I know that, but I didn't mean for you to start a rebellion."

"Just let me explain. Right now, our FRANXX are being holed up in this structure called the Bird Nest. And we learned that the Sages will be showing up at this facility in about 20 minutes, which means they won't be able to track us. If we can get our FRANXX', we can just head to any other Plantation and gather more Parasites until we have enough to take on APE directly," Ichigo explained.

"And WE'VE told her that's never gonna work because, unlike us, all these other Parasites haven't lost anything from the hands of APE. So me and the others thought we'd just take our FRANXX and just run away to someplace where they won't find us and go from there!" Miku objected.

"And where exactly would we go, Miku? Our FRANXX would give away our position if we DID run away!"

"I admire your strategy and thinking, Ichigo, but Miku's right. The Parasites haven't lost what you all did. And besides, there's a severe flaw in your plan: the structure is heavily guarded, top to bottom. What do you expect to do, walk in and walk out?" I asked.

"That's what we have you for. You took out those soldiers at Plantation 13 like it was nothing so this shouldn't be too much harder," Ichigo said.

"But even we have our limitations. The soldiers at the lab could far exceed in number compared to Plantation 13. Even if we could get as far as the docking bay, there's no telling how many soldiers may come after that. It's out of the question."

"Listen, you told me that it's my sole duty as leader of this Squad to protect them. You've helped us get this far and you've inspired us to fight for what we believe in and to fight for our future. Now, I'm asking you to help us fight for that future. Please," Ichigo said. What she was asking made sense, but I knew that if both Hiro and Zero Two's past selves were killed, we would've done this all for nothing. But another thought came to my mind and I turned back around to face Ichigo, sighing.

"All right then. We'll do it your way. But if any of my team gets injured or caught, you don't come back for us. You just go as far as you can and never look back. Do you understand?" I asked. Ichigo and the rest of the Squad nodded in response and me and my team headed for the cockpit.

"Max, we can't do this. We'd be putting Hiro and Zero Two at risk, not to mention that we aren't prepared for whatever's in there," Celeste said as I started up the engines.

"There's no other way. Something has to be done to give this Earth a future," I said.

"But how? APE won't stop until Squad 13 is found and we aren't fully prepared to fight a war at this scale!" Nikki said.

"That's why the only way to truly bring down APE's corruption is to cut it at the roots," I replied. Both Amki and Rhonda gave me confused looks, but Nikki and Celeste knew exactly what I was talking about.

"Wait, you mean to destroy VIRM?"

"Not the entirety of VIRM. Just Papa and the Vice Chairman. If we take them out, we might just start the war between Earth and VIRM. That's the only way that we can set the future back in place."

"Max, that would be complete suicide. Hiro said that VIRM can absorb the souls of people. And if they absorb your soul while you are infected with the Infernite energy, you'd be giving them the power to kill millions," Celeste said.

"Do you have any better suggestions?"

"I mean, Max is kinda right. If we take down VIRM, it might set everything back to normal and we can get out of here," Amki said.

"Plus, we owe it to Hiro, Zero Two, and their Squad to try and do this," Rhonda added.

"Yeah, but we're talking about taking on an alien species that could potentially suck the life out of us! Even if we could get the Squad to the docking bay, where do we go from there?" Nikki asked.

"All I'm asking is that you trust me on this. Like I said before, we don't get any second chances if we do this. Taking down APE is the only option that we have left. It's either that or we die trying," I said. Celeste sat down at the controls and put her head in her hands for a moment before looking back at me. After a few seconds of silence, she took the wheel of the ship.

"For Hiro and Zero Two then," she said. Before too long, we headed for the Bird Nest. As we were on final approach, I saw that the structure itself was sitting in the middle of a lake all by its lonesome, with four bridges connecting it to the land surrounding the lake. Celeste did a lap around the structure until she started to hover near a wall.

"What are you doing? Can't we just phase into the docking bay?" Nikki asked.

"Normally, we could. But our phasing tech got damaged as we were leaving Plantation 13 and the facility holding the FRANXX units is underground. I'm positioning somewhere close to the service elevator that will take us down there, but even then we'd still have to run through an open hallway just to get to it," Celeste replied.

"And my best guess is that hallway's gonna be littered with bad guys," Rhonda said, loading her revolver.

"I just hope that this works or else, we came here for nothing," Amki said.

"It'll work," I said. After Celeste had set us up alongside the Nest, we all made our way inside silently, entering an empty hallway. wasn't a soldier in sight, but in the hall ahead, I could count at least 3 of them. After two of the soldiers left to scout the perimeter, I snuck up behind the third and choked him until he lost consciousness. After I made sure that he was actually unconscious, I signaled for the others to group up with me silently. Squad 13 quietly snuck over to me and knelt down as Celeste, Nikki, and the others readied their weapons.

"Listen, try and be as quiet as possible and stay behind us. If I give the signal, you run as fast as you can to the service elevator at the end of this hall, OK?" I said to the Squad.

"And what happens after that?" Goro asked.

"We go with Ichigo's plan. Assuming we can get that far. Now, Ichigo and Zero Two, I need you to call out enemies to us and which direction that they're coming from. The rest of you, stay in the middle of the group and keep your heads down. Let's move out," I said before we continued on. We slowly made our way down the hallway, sticking to the shadows to avoid being seen. If there was a soldier in the way, either me, Celeste, Nikki, or Amki silently killed him or rendered him unconscious. But as we were nearing the elevator, Zorome accidentally walked out in full sight and got spotted by one of the soldiers patrolling the area, but the soldier got gunned down by Rhonda before he could alert the other soldiers. However, the loud gunshot of Rhonda's revolver reverberated down the entire corridor and got the attention of every soldier all the way up until the elevator. Seeing no other way to get past, I took out my shotgun and starting shooting any soldiers that were unfortunate to come close. Nikki sped throughout the complex, stabbing any soldiers she ran past, and Celeste merged her katanas together to make a double-bladed katana which she threw at some of the soldiers ahead of her, slicing through their heads or torsos until it finally hit a wall. As Celeste got in the sights of two soldiers, Nikki created a small teleporter to help Celeste get in behind them so she could stab them. While we were taking down the majority of the soldiers, more of them got in behind us and started shooting at Amki and Rhonda, who were busy protecting Squad 13. As one soldier took aim at them, Rhonda threw her revolver straight at the soldier with the handle smacking him in the nose before it bounced back to her, she caught it and drew her semi-auto rifle and shot at the ceiling, both bullets ricocheting off of the metal and piercing through the soldier's eyes, killing him instantly. After we had finished clearing out the room, Amki pulled apart the elevator doors and Nikki began to hack the elevator panel while the rest of the team piled into the elevator, save for me.

"How much longer?" Hiro asked.

"Shouldn't be too challenging for me to decode this. Once I've finished, it'll take us down to hangar," Nikki replied. As she was nearly complete with hacking, Celeste's scanner began to slowly beep, which was a surefire indication that something was wrong.

"More soldiers… they're coming toward us," Celeste said.

"From WHERE?" Miku asked.

"Everywhere."

"Uh… I don't mean to be a bother or anything but, do you think you could HURRY UP PLEASE?!" Zorome panickily asked Nikki.

"Just give me a couple more seconds. I'll have this thing moving before long," she replied. But the sounds of the soldiers' footsteps coming from down the hallway made the Squad tremble in fear as Celeste and Rhonda tried to calm them down.

"Haywire, we need control of the elevator controls now!" Celeste said.

"Just a couple more seconds! I've almost got it!"

"We're gonna die… we're all gonna die…" Zorome said, hiding in the corner of the elevator as the footsteps got even closer. Quick-thinking, I pressed the emergency close on the elevator panel, which shut the doors immediately, leaving the Squad and the rest of the team inside and I stabbed the panel out with my arm blade.

"Wait… NOMAD! What are you doing?!" Ichigo said from behind the door.

"What I said that I was going to do. Protecting you," I replied.

"YOU CAN'T! This wasn't the plan!"

"This was always the plan, kid."

"I have control of the elevator now! Nomad, we can still get you onboard!" Nikki said.

"There's no time left. And they won't stop until they have at least one of us. Just go," I said.

"Nomad, we can't do this without you!" Hiro said.

"Yes, you can. It's time that I made peace with the choices I've made. Now GO," I replied. After a few seconds of silence, I heard the sound of the elevator softly whirring as I heard the voices of Squad 13 objecting to let me on until they descended beyond my hearing range. The reinforcements arrived and surrounded me from every single angle, their weapons all pointed directly at me. In front of me, a few soldiers parted to let Alpha and the rest of the 9's through as I looked around the room.

"Staying behind just to give them a chance? How noble of you. However, I must warn you that if you so much as try to fight back, these soldiers will not hesitate to fire on you. And I'd wager that your armor isn't that strong enough to survive all this firepower, is it?" Alpha asked. I didn't answer him. I just dropped my shotgun and kneeled down before removing my helmet in silence. Alpha just stared at me with contempt and knelt down in front of me.

"So… the beast shows his true face. I must admit, I expected to see the face of a true monster behind that mask. But all that I see in front of me is a broken man who has lost his humanity," Alpha said. Right as he was about to get up, he backhanded me across the face, drawing a bit of blood from my mouth, but he also winced from the pain. Just as he was about to hit me again, a male voice rang out.

"Enough!" it said. Alpha and the 9's, as well as myself, turned our attention to the right, where a few soldiers parted to let an old man through. The old man had grey hair and a mustache with a white coat for his attire, along with white gloves, and he was slightly limping, using a cane to support himself. But what was most intriguing about him as he stood in front of me was that half of his face, his entire jawbone, thumb finger, index finger, and middle finger of his right hand were all mechanical.

"Dr. FRANXX, I presume?" I asked as he looked me over.

**Nikki's perspective**

"Take us back up! TAKE US BACK UP NOW!" Ichigo yelled, pounding on the door.

"We can't. If we go back up, we'll share the same fate as him," Celeste replied.

"We can't just leave him! They'll kill him by the time that they're finished with him!" Kokoro objected. I did admit that what Max was doing seemed a bit extreme by terms of helping us escape. But, it felt like he was also doing this for another reason that I couldn't put my finger on.

"Look, you may be right about that, but he's doing this to give us a chance to escape and get reinforcements," Ikuno said.

"That's right! He didn't rescue us just because Kokoro and Mitsuru were in trouble. He rescued us so that we could be given a chance at a better and brighter future! To show us what we're really made of!" Futoshi said.

"Look, Ichigo, we'll round up as many Parasites as we can and we'll come back and…" Goro started to say.

"We're not leaving," Ichigo interrupted.

"What?"

"All this time… I thought that Nomad was a monster. But he's been more human than APE or any of us and he's been twice as strong. But, we're done running. It's time to show the Sages what we can do."

"So, what's the call, Commander?" Rhonda asked.

"We get in our FRANXX and we prove that we aren't afraid. We'll tear this place apart and save him and we'll make them sorry that they ever tried to tear us apart. This is no longer just about our freedom. It's about our family," Ichigo replied, with the rest of the Squad agreeing. Those words alone made something click in my brain. THAT was Max's plan. To inspire them to rise up. To push them to overcome their fears and fight back. When we had finally gotten to our destination, I sped through the hallway to look for any soldiers, which surprisingly there weren't any so far, but in the docking bay, they were all over the place. I sped back to the elevator to give Celeste the news.

"There's a whole battalion in the hangar. We'll need to clear that out before we can get you all out of here," I said.

"Get yourselves ready. After we've cleared the hangar, I'll try and track down Nomad's location so you know where they've taken him. And please, be careful," Celeste said. Ichigo nodded and the Squad headed into the locker room to get ready while the rest of us stormed through the hangar, taking out every soldier in sight.

**Future Hiro's perspective**

You know, looking back out at the landscape of my old world, it felt like I was now a stranger to it. I was staring out of the window in my bedroom and reminiscing about my past as Eva was busy setting up the QVE in the engine room. But even as I stared out the window, I felt like the other planets we had visited were more beautiful than ours. I mean, don't get me wrong, our world did have its own breathtaking spots, but the rest just looked like-

"Goo?" I heard a voice say. I looked down and saw Goo, the slime we saved from the Phantom Facility, staring up at me.

"What am I doing? Oh, nothing. Just looking out at the landscape," I replied. Well, I at least that's what I thought she asked. I honestly didn't know what she was saying as she could only say one word.

"Goo."

"Yeah, I know that it's not much to look at. But this is the world me and Zero Two grew up in."

"Goo?"

"Yeah, it got a bit lonely. But, the day I met Zero Two was the day that my life changed. She was the most beautiful thing that I ever saw. And her attitude was always so cheerful and positive and…"

"What are you two talking about?" a voice from behind asked. I turned around and saw Zero Two standing in the doorway with her arms crossed and a smug smile on her face. Goo immediately slithered out of the room when she saw her.

"Just, uh, stuff. Talking about our world and stuff like that," I said. Zero Two just walked over to my side and continued to smile.

"Were you flirting with her?" she asked.

"Are you kidding? I couldn't even understand what she was saying or asking."

"Well, I wouldn't think that would stop you from doing it. So, what were you and Odango doing earlier?

"Just… friendly business. It wasn't anything… you know."

"Darling, I'm just playing around with you. You don't have to take everything so-," Zero Two started to say. But before she could say anything more, both me and her felt a sharp pain in our foreheads again, this time even stronger than before. After the pain subsided, both of us looked in horror at each other and we immediately got up and ran straight for the cockpit, where Eva and Rhea were.

"WE NEED TO GO BACK!" I yelled as I set up the controls.

"Why? What's wrong?" Eva asked.

"It's VIRM! They have Max!"

"WHAT?!"

"We need to go back right now! We have to rescue him!" Zero Two said.

"How did he get captured?!" Rhea asked.

"He stayed behind so that he could protect the Squad. APE has him now! We need to go back and help before they kill him!" I said as I turned the engines on.

"Why on earth would he do that?!" Eva asked.

"Look, I don't know why he would, but if he's with APE right now, we need to get him out before they extract the Infernite energy or everyone on this Earth will die."

"Hiro, that will be impossible for them," Rhea said.

"What?" Zero Two asked.

"In its current state, the Infernite energy is completely unstable and because of that, the only safe way to extract it is with the Crucible. Without it, if they try to extract the energy, it'll tear them apart from the inside until their bodies disintegrate."

"Even if that's the case, we still can't leave him there. We need to go to the Bird Nest and break him out of there!" I said.

"So, is it a bad time to mention that I recently picked up seismic activity heading in that direction?" Odango asked, lifting a finger.

"Wait, what?" Eva asked.

"I recently picked up some seismic activity coming from a few miles outside of Plantation 13 and now it seems to be heading towards where Max and the others are right now," Odango said. Both Zero Two and I exchanged horrified looks when she said that.

"Oh my god, she knows," Zero Two said.

"Who knows?" Eva asked.

"The Klaxosaur Princess. She must've sent her klaxosaurs to find and destroy the source of the energy," I said.

"But, HOW?"

"The Infernite energy gives off a small electric surge that can sometimes be sensed by certain creatures. It's possible that the Princess is able to sense the energy signature and that she deems it a threat. But how she senses it is beyond my understanding," Rhea said.

"OK, we can't worry about that now. We need to save Max because if VIRM doesn't kill him, the klaxosaurs will!" I said.

"Hiro, we can't just storm into the Bird Nest and save Max that easily. Plus, if VIRM sees you, they might discover that you are from the future and you might change you and Zero Two's destiny forever," Eva objected.

"I don't care! Look, Max knew the risks if we did this. But he didn't hesitate to save our Squad and he sacrificed himself so that he could help them escape. But we can't leave him in the hands of our enemy! We have to do something!"

"Hiro, Max possibly has a plan to get out of this," Rhea said.

"And if he doesn't? We'd be leaving him to face his own death. We can't let that happen!" Zero Two said. Eva just sighed and sat down in the command chair, rubbing her eyes in distress.

"I mean, they're right, aren't they? If we were in that position, Max would do the same for us. And we're a team. Nobody gets left behind," Odango said.

"No… we're more than a team. We're family," I said. Eva sat back in the chair for a while and then looked back at me.

"Then strap yourselves in. Let's go get him," she said.

**Max's perspective, Bird Nest**

The soft whirring of the elevator was the only sound that was breaking the silence as it made its way up. Both of my wrists were shackled with some kind of energy cuffs and Alpha had my shotgun strapped to his back. To make matters worse, I could feel Alpha staring at me with disapproving eyes. Standing next to me, Dr. FRANXX was closely examining my helmet, running his hand over it as if he was admiring the curvature of it.

"This metal… how did you even acquire something like this?" he asked me. I didn't answer him. I just kept my mouth shut and looked away from him.

"Well, how about your weapons? I've never seen anything like them before," he asked. Again, I didn't answer him or even look him in the eye. The doctor just looked at me with concern and tried to get my attention.

"Why do you not speak? You have no reason to be afraid of me. I just wish to know more about you."

"Who needs to know more about him? He's a heartless monster that kills because he thinks it's fun. He thinks that protecting a Squad as if they were his own will make him a better person, but it won't. He has no discipline, no skill. I bet the Squad would've abandoned him the first chance that they got," Alpha said behind me. I swear, I wanted to seriously deck him in the face SO MUCH. But his words did have some truth to them. I felt that killing was the only option for the soldiers that I massacred back at the Plantation and there was the constant burning anger that was only made worse by the energy that was pulsing through my veins. Dr. FRANXX could tell that I was hurt by Alpha's words.

"I believe… I understand what's bothering you. You were trying to protect them from us, weren't you? You think that we do not care for their happiness, don't you? You wanted to give them freedom when the Sages tried to take it away from them. To tell you the truth, they never consulted me about that decision. I felt angry that they would do such a thing. But I do care about the children, I really do. And I can see it your eyes, you hate such injustice like that, don't you?" Dr. FRANXX asked. I just looked at him with a sorrowful look before turning away again. Before long, we left the elevator and walked down a long hallway until we entered a slightly empty room where four robed figures were standing with a large handful of soldiers lined up against the wall. When we entered, one of the soldiers accompanying us forced me to my knees as Dr. FRANXX walked in front of me to meet the robed ones. Sure enough, when one turned around, he was wearing a golden mask with red eyes. I was certain that he had to be Papa, the leader of both VIRM and APE. As the doctor walked up to him, Papa took my helmet from him and closely examined it, like he was studying it more thoroughly than Dr. FRANXX did.

"Where is Squad 13? The rest of his team?" he finally asked.

"I'm not certain. But I assume that they couldn't have gotten far," Dr. FRANXX replied. Papa handed my helmet back to him and then walked up to me and closely examined my face.

"I thought you said that he had eyes of red."

"I guess the visor was tinted differently from his eyes. All he is underneath is a broken man," Alpha replied.

"And yet, he made you and the entire battalion we sent with you look like inexperienced children," the Vice Chairman said.

"Well then, all that aside, tell me 'Hero': Where are your friends now?" Papa asked me. I didn't answer or acknowledge him and kept staring down at the floor.

"Very well. How about an easier question: What is the source of your power?" he asked. I just looked up at him like he was crazy until Dr. FRANXX pulled up a hologram recording of me using an electrical shockwave to incinerate the soldiers at Plantation 13. I just looked back at the floor, refusing to answer the question.

"Why does he not speak?" Marmoset asked.

"I do not know. He hasn't spoken a word after he was captured," Dr. FRANXX replied.

"Then perhaps we can persuade him," Papa said, signaling for the guards to take me over to one side of the room, where a couple of chains slowly emerged from the floor. The guards attached the chains to my wrists as Papa walked over to the table that he and the rest of the Sages were surrounding earlier and picked up a metal apparatus of some kind.

"W-what are you doing?" Dr. FRANXX asked as Papa made his way over to me.

"This device was meant to supply a small shock to the patient's brain if they refuse to give information, correct?" Papa asked.

"Well, yes, but that was the prototype. I'm not sure if the voltage will be correct if we do attach that to him."

"He'll talk one way or another. And the truth of his power WILL be revealed."

"…Do you think that you're fooling anyone here?" I finally said. Papa, Dr. FRANXX, the Sages and the 9's were taken aback by me suddenly talking, but Papa then knelt down to face me.

"Why exactly would we be fooling anyone?" he asked me.

"I know what you are under that mask. Underneath it is the face of a monster. You act like you actually care about this planet, but you don't. You deny your Parasites any happiness or solitude. They fight and die for you and you don't give them any recognition. But I'm here to give them what you won't: their freedom. You can torture me all you want, but I will NEVER tell you where Squad 13 is. And my power is MY secret. So, go ahead, torture me if you want, but you won't get anything from me," I said triumphantly. Everything in the room went dead silent for a few seconds before Papa chuckled lightly.

"Such bold words. I'm impressed with your courage. But the truth that I embrace is that we will win this war one way or the other and we will not let anything impede us. And your power will help us do just that," he scoffed, placing the apparatus on my head. Before I could say anything more, a sudden shock ran through my body and everything went black.

**Future Hiro's perspective**

"We're only a few miles away from the Nest now. Get the others ready," Eva said to me. I immediately headed to the hangar of the dropship where Zero Two and the rest of the team were suiting up to get ready to infiltrate the Nest.

"Ready?" I asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be. If the 9's are in there, I'll be sure to give them tens years' worth of payback," Zero Two said, holstering her electrostaff. Before I could ask any of the others if they were ready, Celeste called me on the comms.

"Hiro, is the QVE ready? I can't seem to reach Eva," she said.

"It's ready. Eva's busy driving right now," I replied.

"Driving? Where are you right now?"

"Just a few miles outside of the Bird Nest. We're making our final approach now."

"WHAT?! Hiro, why are you coming to the Bird Nest?"

"We have a chance to save Max. And don't try to talk me out of it because we've got a whole swarm of klaxosaurs moving toward the Bird Nest coming for him."

"Wh- That's impossible! How did the klaxosaurs know that we were here?"

"It's because of the same reason VIRM has him: the Infernite energy. But the klaxosaurs are afraid of him. Unless we can get him out, they'll kill him. What about our Squad?" I asked. The ship suddenly lurched a bit and I saw that we were hovering above the Bird Nest.

"They're piloting their FRANXX's now. Ichigo made the decision to have the Squad try and free him from the Sages," Celeste said.

"That's smart. If the klaxosaurs do attack, the Squad can help defend the Nest as we get Max out."

"Hiro, you do realize that if VIRM sees you, they'll know that you're from the future and if that happens, we might not be able to help."

"We were trained for situations like this. It's time that we show them what were made of," I said before I cut the feed and grouped up with the rest of the team. We then teleported out of the dropship into the empty hallway of the Nest. Or, at the very least, it was empty for a few seconds after we teleported in, because a couple of soldiers rounded the corner just as we were recovering from the sudden change in scenery and took aim at us. But Zero Two recovered quick enough to leap into action and dispatch the soldiers by electrocuting them with her staff. A third soldier heard all the commotion and fired a couple of shots at Zero Two, which she dodged with ease before I grappled him with one of my gauntlets and hit him with the other.

"Well, we're in luck. The floor that Max is being held on is the one we're on right now. We just need to head down this hall and hang a left at the first intersection and we should find them," Eva said, checking her proximity detector.

"Then let's get going. If we don't get him out, those klaxosaurs will tear this place apart," I said. We immediately ran down the hallway just as a battalion of soldiers came from the hallway behind us, firing at us. Zero Two and I worked hand-in-hand, utilizing all we learned to take out some of the soldiers. Eva used her concussion gauntlets to blow some of the soldiers away from us and Odango fired a bunch of suppression rockets which easily incapacitated them. As we fought on, Rhea conjured up an electric shield which not only protected us from the gunfire, but also allowed Eila to draw power from and electrocute a few more of the soldiers. The last two were taken out by Goo, who attached herself to one soldier's head and then grabbed another before knocking their heads together. After we had taken the soldiers out, we ran toward where Max was being held, keeping our weapons ready just in case. But as we were about to round the corner, two familiar faces stepped out, making us stop in our tracks. The faces were of Haichi and Nana, our caretakers. Haichi was the defense commander of the Operational Headquarters based in Plantation 13 and although he had a blunt and emotionless demeanor, he still cared about us. Nana, on the other hand, was caring and always committed herself to our safety. Seeing them again… I couldn't find the words to greet them. But Zero Two obviously did.

"Haichi. Nana. Great to see you again, but we've got important business to get to," she said, ushering me and the others along. But Haichi and Nana were quick to follow us.

"What are you two doing here? Do you have any idea what's been going on around here?" Haichi asked as we made our way down the hallway.

"The whole of APE has been looking for you and your Squad! Do you care to explain what's going on? Or who these people are?" Nana asked, pointing at the rest of our team. But we just ignored her and continued on until we got to a large door that was sealed tight.

"He's behind this door?" I asked.

"He is. Now we just need a way to get through," Eva replied. Eila went over to the door's control panel and tried to overload it, but it instead reacted violently and launched her back. Rhea was able to catch her with her magic though.

"016, 002, you two need to explain to me what's going so…" Haichi started to say.

"Look, we don't have time to explain right now! If we don't get in there, a lot of people are going to die!" I said, stunning Haichi a bit. Zero Two grabbed a bomb unit out of Odango's chest and placed it on the door, setting the timer for 15 seconds.

"What is that?!" Nana asked.

"It's a bomb. Which means you need to step back now," Zero Two said, gently pushing Nana away from the door. When all of us had gotten far enough away, Zero Two got into a battle ready stance, as did the rest of us, with Rhea pulling a hood over her head and me pulling out my shotgun. Nana cringed at put her fingers in her ears, fearing what would come next.

"Remember, be careful in there," I said to Zero Two.

"We've trained for stuff like this, Darling. Of course, I'll be careful," she replied. Right as the bomb blew open the door and smoke filled the room inside, Zero Two ran in and attacked any soldier that she could see, bludgeoning them with her staff. I launched a few sticky bombs at a couple of soldiers, which blew apart one, but the other continued to fire at us until Rhea put him down with a fireball. Eila shot some lightning out and electrocuted a bunch more as Eva and Odango teamed up to take out five more soldiers and Goo launched one up only for her to grab him and slam him back down into the ground. After Zero Two had defeated the last soldier that she could, the smoke began to clear and she was now in full view of the 9's and the Sages, followed by me. The 9's and Dr. FRANXX were rather surprised to see us, but Papa didn't seem all that fazed. To the right of him, Max was chained to the ground, wearing an apparatus of some kind that seemed to be electrocuting him.

"016. 002. This is quite a surprise. Although, not an unwelcome one," Papa said. Haichi ran up to my side caught sight of Max being electrocuted.

"Wait, what the hell are you doing up here exactly?! What are you doing to that man?!" Haichi demanded to know.

"It's classified information, I'm afraid."

"So, you're experimenting on people now?!" Nana yelled.

"It doesn't matter. We're taking him out of here and you can't stop us," Zero Two said, pointing her pistols at the Sages.

"And what exactly do you plan to do with him? Inside this man lies a power unlike anything we've ever seen. This power… if we could harness it, it would change the very course of the war," the Vice Chairman said.

"Then you are fools. You mess with a power that you don't fully understand. That power is too dangerous for anyone to wield," Rhea said.

"That's why we need to get him out of here as quickly as possible," I said.

"And tell me, 016, what exactly is this man worth to you? Is it the feeling of sentiment? Or does it run deeper than tha-" Papa started to ask before the entire room began to rumble violently, as if something hit it. Nana, Haichi, and the rest of us struggled to keep our footing as Papa pulled up a screen showing the outside. Standing in the front was Goro and Ichigo's FRANXX, Delphinium, with the rest of our Squad standing behind her.

"Sages! You tried to tear our family apart and you think that we will simply back down because you say so?! Well, I have a message for you! If you don't give Nomad back to us right now, we'll tear this place apart with you in it!" Ichigo said through Delphinium before she punched the side again, cutting the feed on the screen. But not before Nana, Haichi, and everyone else had gotten a full view of our past selves piloting Strelizia.

"Wait a minute… how is Strelizia out there when…" Nana started to say before her and Haichi's eyes widened as they came to the answer and they turned back to us.

"Your eyes do not deceive you. The two Parasites you see in front of you… are from the future," Papa said.

"You knew…" Zero Two said.

"No one other than us and the 9's knew about the arrest of 556 and 326 that would've happened today. It only made sense that you would send someone to try and rescue them. I will admit that we did not expect you to get this far, but in your attempt to save your Squad, you simply handed us a way to wipe out the klaxosaurs for good. But, I'm afraid that you are no longer needed here at this time. Remove them," the Vice Chairman replied, pointing at us. A bunch of soldiers obeyed and ran toward us with their weapons out, but Rhea immediately conjured up a windstorm that lifted them up into the air, where Eila threw lightning balls at them to knock them out.

"Go get Max! We'll handle them!" Rhea yelled to us as she used her magic to create a wall of ice that protected the others from the enemy fire. We ran straight over to Max to try and free him, but we were cut off by Alpha and the rest of the 9's when we were about halfway there.

"Colluding against Papa and the Sages? I didn't think you capable of such dishonor, Iota," Alpha said.

"It's you who's being dishonorable, Alpha. You're working with the enemy and you don't even know it yet," I said.

"And why should listen to the likes of an ingrate like you?" Alpha replied, a smug grin on his face. I stepped forward to try and give him a piece of my mind, but Zero Two put my arm in front of me and stopped me.

"This fight is mine, Darling. I'll handle this," she said. I nodded and stepped back a bit, letting her step forward and challenge the 9's directly, making Alpha smirk.

"You know how this fight will end, Iota. Why don't you let your Partner have a turn with us?"

"Because you don't actually know how the fight will end this time. Now, step aside unless you wanna get really hurt."

"Honestly, Iota, Papa only wants what's best for us. And even if you think what you're doing is right, why would you risk your life for a monster like him?" Alpha said, pointing at Max.

"You forget, Alpha, I was also a monster too. And he's been more of a father than Papa ever was," Zero Two said before she got into a battle ready stance and taunted the 9's to try and fight her.

"Well, if you insist. Take her," Alpha commanded the other 9's, who immediately ran in to try and restrain her. The 9 in the front, Beta, took a swing at Zero Two to try and knock her down, but Zero Two leaned back and dodged his fist at the last second so that his arm flew right over her before she struck him in the chin with her electrostaff, which knocked him down. Zero Two didn't have any time to relax because the rest of the 9's were right behind Beta, and each of them tried in vain to hit Zero Two or and least pin her down. But Zero Two's superior fighting skills were able to keep each of the 9's from even touching her. She grabbed Epsilon with her legs and easily toppled him, tripped up Gamma with her staff, used a pole vault to take down both Eta and Zeta, and put Theta in a choke hold until she lost consciousness as she fought Delta and knocked her out with a kick to her face. As all of the 9's laid on the ground around her unconscious, Zero Two threw Alpha a smug look.

"Well? What do you think of THAT?" Zero Two said.

"I'm not impressed. Besides, they were just simply a warm-up. Let's see how you fare against me," Alpha said before Zero Two lunged at him. She tried her best to try and hit him, but Alpha matched her step for step. But the same was true for Alpha as he had trouble even landing a hit on Zero Two. But the second that he messed up, Zero Two hit him in the face with her staff and did so again multiple times before ending it with one final strike, drawing some blood from his mouth. Alpha enragedly attacked her again, but she did her best to try and hold him back.

"Darling, be a dear and go get Max out!" Zero Two said to me. I nodded and ran over to where Max was and tried to get him free, but the chains were too strong for me to break, even with my gauntlets.

"Max, c'mon. I need your help here. I can't do this alone!" I said, trying to get Max to cooperate despite his condition. But as I tried to get the chains to break again, I noticed that the blood vessels in his neck were starting to turn black and they glowed red periodically. But I didn't have time to see what that was all about because a laser blast from a soldier's rifle knocked me away from him. As he took aim at me again, another rumbling tore through the building and made him lose his footing and misfire. I luckily moved one of the chains that was holding Max into the path of the shot and it easily broke the chain, but it also knocked me back again. Quick-thinking, I grabbed my shotgun and shot a sticky bomb at the soldier who shot at me and the bomb blew him to pieces. Sensing that he was a bit free, Max grabbed the other chain and pulled on it until it broke free and he collapsed to the ground, the apparatus falling off of his head. Zero Two managed to knock out Alpha and give me some assistance, taking out her dual pistols and pointing them at the Sages.

"Well… this has been quite entertaining. I didn't expect such a display of power like that from either of you," Papa said.

"How 'bout you just cut the crap and…" Zero Two started to say before a loud explosion rang out from the outside. A screen pulled up and showed the landscape past our Squad, where the ground was breaking open to reveal a bunch of klaxosaurs crawling out. Our Squad turned back and noticed them before they engaged them to keep them from reaching the Bird Nest. The rest of the Sages aside from Papa and the Vice Chairman looked at the screen in fear.

"Th-this isn't right… why are there so many of them at once?" Marmoset asked.

"They aren't coming here because of us! They're coming here because of him!" I said, pointing at Max, who was still dazed and struggling to brush off his pain.

"What do you mean?" Baboon asked.

"It's what we've been trying to tell you this whole time! Those klaxosaurs are afraid because of the threat he poses. If we don't get him out of here, none of us will leave this place alive!" Zero Two said, drawing concern from Marmoset, Baboon, Gorilla, and Dr. FRANXX.

"Perhaps… we should listen to them…" Dr. FRANXX said to Papa. But Papa just scoffed at him like he didn't care about his opinion.

"You mean surrender our only means of finally destroying that accursed race of monsters? On the brink of our victory?" Papa asked as he stood in front of Max alongside the Vice Chairman.

"What victory can we even achieve with THAT many klaxosaurs out there right now?!" Gorilla asked.

"So you would rather trust inexperienced children rather than us?" the Vice Chairman asked.

"Oh, come off of it, you vermin! You wouldn't know defeat even if it hits you in the face! Just admit that you can't win this time!" Zero Two yelled at Papa. But he just stared at us, almost like he was smiling sadistically underneath that mask of his.

"You are from the future, so I assume that you already know of our secret as much as we know yours. It is our duty to assure victory against our enemies, whether they be human or klaxosaur. All who wish to live must surrender to our will or face the consequences of their actions. And in your pathetic attempt to change the past of this Earth, you simply handed to us the means to finally be rid of our true enemy and erase any trace of rebellion. In truth, you shouldn't have returned at all," Papa said.

"Do you think we came back here just to kill you? No, we came back to protect our loved ones. From the likes of YOU. And you've unleashed an evil that you'll never be able to control. It'll be the end of you," I said. As I was talking, I saw that Max was being surrounded by the same red electricity that was in his veins and his hair was turning white. And neither Papa nor the Vice Chairman had no idea.

"The truth that we acknowledge, 016, is that your pathetic race is meant to give us servitude. EVERY race deserves to give us servitude. Because we excel in means of our evolution. And what these years of evolution has shown that as a superior species, we will always prevai-," the Vice Chairman started to say. But he was interrupted mid-sentence by Max, who shoved his fist through his chest. The Vice Chairman looked down in complete shock and horror before looking back up as Max shoved his other fist through the Vice Chairman's chest and violently ripped him apart, making Papa move away in fear and awe. Max slowly stood up and stared intently at us with red eyes before looking back in anger at Papa.

"Restrain him!" Papa commanded a small handful of soldiers standing next to him. One of the soldiers immediately fired at Max, the shot hitting him smack in the face, but all it did was make him angry and he swiftly charged toward the soldier and tore him in half. The other soldiers tried in vain to stop him, but Max grabbed one and impaled him through the head with his arm blade and then knocked the other one down and crushed his head with his foot. Me, Zero Two, and the rest of the team did our best to take out any other soldiers that were trying to take him down. The rest of the Sages began to try and run from Max's rampage, but Gorilla tripped and fell on his face in his fear and before he could react, Max reached down and tore through his back, ripping out his spine and leaving him a bloody mess. Max continued to tear his way through every soldier that got in his way until he caught up with Marmoset and held her by her throat. As he tightened his grip on her, her mask came undone, revealing the face of a frightened, middle-aged woman underneath, tears running down her face. I tried to call out to him to try and stop him, but one of the soldiers fighting us punched me in the chin and prevented me from doing so.

"Please… have mercy!" Marmoset pleaded, choking a bit. Max just stared at her in silence before tossing her toward the wall. As Baboon tried to help her, Max continued to zero in on his main target: Papa. Both Papa and Dr. FRANXX had a group of soldiers standing in front of them to try and protect them, but Max began slaughtering them one by one with his arm blade or his bare fists. However, as the rest of us fought on, I couldn't help but feel like this was what Papa really wanted to have happen. But, as Max was just finished with killing the last soldier, he suddenly stopped in his tracks and looked toward both Marmoset and Baboon. I didn't know exactly what it was that made him stop but the answer came pretty quick as all of us stopped fighting when we heard this deep, guttural growling coming from outside and the side of the Nest was torn open, both Marmoset and Baboon falling to their deaths. And what we saw defied all logic. The thing tearing through the nest was a klaxosaur, definitely large enough to be Super Lehmann-class, but unlike most of the others that me and Zero Two fought, this one had three heads which all looked dragon-esque as compared to any normal klaxosaur and it looked as if it had layer upon layer of armor covering its entire body and it kept itself level to the floor we were on with its large, razor-sharp claws. The klaxosaur bellowed a loud roar before one of its heads attacked Nana, only for Max to stop the head in its tracks and punch it with an electric blast of Infernite energy. As the klaxosaur reeled back from the pain, Max jumped on top of its head and tore off one of its armor pieces, stabbing the piece into the side of the monster's neck. The enraged klaxosaur spewed blue fire from one of its heads to try and injure him, but the flames barely even scratched him and Rhea raised a wall of ice to shield us from the heat. Zero Two and I took advantage of the creature's position and we both moved underneath its necks to try and locate a weak point.

"Darling, look!" Zero Two yelled, pointing at the klaxosaur's chest, which was pulsating and glowing a golden color. I figured that it had to be housing its weak spot, its core. I immediately took aim at the klaxosaur's chest and fired a trio of sticky bombs and while the explosions did break some of the armor away, it wasn't enough to expose the core. To make matters worse, one of the heads became aware of our presence and tried to kill us. We were luckily saved by Eila and Rhea, who used lightning to distract the monster's head. Zero Two attached a bunch of explosives to the klaxosaur's chest and detonated them to form a crooked line running all the way to the bottom. Max repeatedly bashed one of the klaxosaur heads until he was certain that it could no longer fight and joined us, grabbing the monster's chest and tearing it open where Zero Two had blown it up, exposing the klaxosaur's core. I expected him to stab the core with his arm blade, but his arms became engulfed in electricity and he grabbed the core with both of his hands and started to electrocute it. The klaxosaur roared in pain as the electricity surrounded its entire body and the blue highlights of its entire body began to turn red. Rhea immediately grabbed both of us with her magic and brought us back to the rest of the group, as well as the 9's, before conjuring up a shield just as the klaxosaur's core seemingly exploded, blasting Max backwards into Rhea's shield. It seemed like the battle was over as the klaxosaur finally collapsed. But, just as Rhea lowered the shield and Max got back up, the klaxosaur slowly got back up, its chest now fully healed and its body now glowing with red highlights. I expected that the klaxosaur would start attacking again, probably even more enraged than before. But, as Max walked up to the beast, it just lowered its heads to face him, the two exchanging menacing glares at each other until Max looked out at our Squad fighting the other smaller klaxosaurs. The hydra-klaxosaur seemed to understand what Max was thinking and slowly left the Nest before fighting the other klaxosaurs alongside our Squad. Me and the others were in complete awe at what we just saw and Max seemed to finally be exhausted from how intense the battle was, as he was now panting heavily. But just as he was calming down, a sudden beam of light hit him straight in the side of his chest. The source of the beam was coming from Papa, who had his hand outstretched to try and steal some of the power that Max had. As Papa continued to try and steal it, a red orb made its way from Max's body to Papa's hand, and when it finally reached him, Papa's body became engulfed in the same energy that Max had and he let Max go. The energy bristled all over Papa's hands as he outstretched his arms, the lightning arcing between his fingers.

"Yessss. This power… is EVERYTHING I had ever hoped for! With this… there will be no more rebellion. No more resistance. All will submit to the power of VIRM! And there will be nothing that can…" Papa started to say triumphantly. But when he took another look at his hands, he, as well as me and the others, saw it slowly beginning to turn to stone and the electricity began to shock his entire body as he yelled in pain. But that was the least of his problems as Max recovered and grabbed him by the neck and forced him up against the wall. Papa tried desperately to fight back, but Max angrily reacted and tore his arm off before tightening his grip on him and stared at him menacingly.

"You… cannot do this. I've shielded these people from our enemy… kept them safe and cared for. What will they do when I'm gone from this world? How will they move on without me?" Papa asked. Max just drew his arm blade in response and prepared to strike.

"You were nothing but a usurper. A false god," Max replied in a demonic voice before he stabbed Papa through his mask and then violently ripped his head off, his body turning to dust as soon as he dropped his body to the ground. Max just stood there in triumph as he turned his attention to Papa's head, which was still attached to his arm blade, and pushed it off, the mask shattering when it hit the ground. But, after that, Max turned his attention to Dr. FRANXX, who was cowering in the corner, and started to slowly stalk toward him.

"Max, that's enough! No more!" I yelled, trying to get him to snap out of his anger. But Max just ignored me and tore the table out of the ground so he could get to Dr. FRANXX, but he was immediately stopped by Eila, Goo, Eva, and Odango, who tried their best to hold him back. But Max's body suddenly tensed up and became covered in electricity, zapping Eila and Goo back, and he shoved Eva out of the way and tore one of Odango's legs off of her. It seemed like there was no possible way to get him to stop what he was doing. But just as Max was about ready to kill Dr. FRANXX, Zero Two dropped her staff and ran towards him, looking determined to stop him. But when I started to yell for her to stop, she wrapped her arms tightly around his chest as she hugged him and the entire room seemed to fall silent. Max at first seemed extremely tense and looked back at Zero Two, but she gently put one of her hands over his eyes to try and calm him down, not loosening her grip on him.

"Don't let it control you… like how it once controlled me," she said quietly as she removed her hand from his eyes. Her plan seemed to work because Max then took a look around at the entire room at everything: the bloodied corpses of the soldiers we had killed, at the shattered mask of Papa, and at his friends whom he had inadvertently hurt. And then he turned back to Dr. FRANXX and looked at his arm blade, staring at his own reflection in disgust before he gently pushed Zero Two aside and, after a few more seconds of silence, he finally ended the whole thing by slashing the metal part of the doctor's face, causing him to faint in fear. Max finally crumpled to his knees and started to return to his normal state as I checked Dr. FRANXX's pulse, which was thankfully there, but my attention was soon diverted to outside, where the hydra-klaxosaur had finally destroyed the last small klaxosaur before it finally crumpled to the ground and slowly died. I then turned back to Max, who was beginning to cry at his own inhumanity, only for Zero Two to kneel down in front of him and tenderly hug him. I felt inclined to do the same and joined her, gently trying to calm him down. Touched by this heartfelt act, Max put his arms around us and squeezed us tightly until we heard Nikki, Celeste, and the other team enter the room. We didn't really get a chance to say anything because the building began to shake once again, possibly due to Squad 13 trying to still rescue Max.

"We need to leave. NOW," Celeste said, getting us to our feet and leading us out the door. Haichi took advantage of the situation and grabbed a comm system to reach the Squad outside.

"Squad 13! Stand down! Nomad is OK! He's safe!" he said as we left.

**Zero Two's perspective, 15 minutes later**

"You know what needs to be done now, correct?" Celeste asked. All of us were sitting in a dimly lit room with Haichi and Nana sitting at one end and the rest of us sitting at the other end. To be honest, the ambiance in here was a bit scary.

"I'm… not entirely sure that I understand," Haichi replied. Celeste just nodded and began to explain again.

"A few hours ago, Plantation 13 was raided by a team that was rebellious to the Sages and APE and they had hoped to liberate Squad 13 from their 'home'. But, as they were trying to escape, one of them was captured and brought here for interrogation, but the Nest was attacked by a horde of klaxosaurs which were fought off by Squad 13's heroic actions. But, in the chaos, Gorilla, Baboon, and Marmoset were killed, the 9's were incapacitated, and Dr. FRANXX was injured, losing some of his memories. You learned of the truth about Papa and the Vice Chairman's true intentions and you learned about their true identities before they too were killed by the klaxosaurs," she said.

"And what exactly do we tell the people about APE? About these… invaders?" Nana asked.

"That they're still out there. But you won't stop until they're gone and Earth is safe," Nikki replied. Haichi just sighed and gently rubbed his forehead in distress.

"And what happens after that?" he asked.

"That's for you to decide. I trust that you'll make the right decision, Haichi," Celeste said before she left alongside everyone else except for me and Darling.

"This whole thing… was crazy," Nana said, sitting down in the chair beside Haichi.

"I know. We didn't really mean for things to go like this. But, it all worked out in the end… sort of," I said.

"So… you come from the future?" Haichi asked.

"We do. We don't know how we ended up coming back here so suddenly like this but, we knew that we couldn't just sit by and watch as our family was torn apart again," Darling replied.

"What you did… it was foolish. But it was also very brave of you. Not just risking your lives for your Squad but also risking your lives for your friend."

"Well, that's what we've always done from the start, isn't it? Protect our loved ones?"

"So… where do you go from here?" Nana asked as Darling and I stood up.

"I can't say exactly what will happen next for us. But I do know that whatever the future holds for us, we can't just simply watch anymore. We have to try and help wherever and whenever we can," Darling replied before he handed a small flash drive to Haichi, who just gave him a confused look.

"What's this for?" he asked.

"For the Squad. For after the war. You'll know when to give it to them."

"So... this is goodbye?" Nana asked.

"Only goodbye for now. We'll come back when our mission is complete," I said, giving Nana a hug.

"Then until we meet again. Be safe you two," Haichi said before I took Darling's hand and pressed a button on my wrist which beamed us back up to the Centurion, where the rest of the team was waiting.

"Well, it seems that our mission was a success. The future has been set back into place," Rhea said.

"But at what cost?" Max asked. He was sulking in the corner, looking sorry for himself. I just walked over to him and leaned against the wall with a smile on my face.

"I'd say at the cost of VIRM's dignity, if anything," I replied, trying to cheer him up. I managed to get a slight chuckle out of him, but he still looked a little sad.

"Max... what happened back there... that wasn't your fault," Darling said. Max just nodded as Nikki knelt down and gave him a hug to try and comfort him.

"So, you guys are OK with going back with us?" Nikki asked.

"Me and Darling talked about it and we thought it'd be best to help you first. Plus, we have the means to come back right?" I replied. Nikki nodded in response.

"So, the QVE is all set up?" Celeste asked.

"All systems are a go for launch and we are set to return to our dimension," Eva replied.

"Not just yet. There's one last place I need to visit before we leave," Max said, standing up.

"And where's that?" Amki asked.

"Plantation 13."

**Ichigo's perspective**

All of us were just sitting in front of Mistilteinn, waiting for any sign of Nomad or his team to show up. But... at the same time, all of us thought that someone would also come arrest us because of our actions at the Bird Nest.

"You're certain that Nomad's OK?" Mitsuru asked.

"That's what they told us," I replied, looking up at the sky.

"You don't think that they're going to arrest us for what happened at the Bird Nest, do you?" Hiro asked.

"THAT'S what you're more concerned about?! What about that giant klaxosaur that just suddenly started attacking the others instead of us?! Didn't that seem a bit strange to anyone?" Zorome asked in a panicked state.

"Look, we should just be thankful that we're alive after something like that attacked the nest. And we should be even more grateful that it stayed on our side long enough for us to kill the other klaxosaurs," Ikuno said.

"Do you think that Nomad had anything to do with it?" Hiro asked. Before any of us could answer, a strong gust of wind blew through the entire area, blowing the leaves off of some of the trees and blowing our hair back. The source of the wind was coming from a small ship that gently touched down in front of the walkway. After it had landed and a small ramp opened up, Nomad came walking out of the ship, his armor seemingly covered in blue blood. Zorome immediately ran up to him and hugged him tightly.

"Where have YOU been?! Dude, it was crazy what just happened at the Bird's Nest! We were trying to get you out and then a whole bunch of klaxosaurs showed up, and then this HUGE one with three heads burst out of the ground and started tearing the nest apart! Next thing we knew, it then just started to help us take out the other klaxosaurs and then..." he started to say before Nomad cut him off by covering his mouth with his hand.

"I know what happened. I was literally being kept where the klaxosaur was attacking," Nomad replied.

"So... I take it that you're here to tell us that APE's considering putting us in a prison or something?" Ikuno asked.

"As far as APE's concerned, you were only there fighting klaxosaurs. And luckily, no innocents got hurt."

"Look, I know that you're gonna say that what I did was reckless. I just thought that if we just hit the side of the building instead of just tearing it open and endangering hundreds of other people, they would let you go. The side of the Nest where you being held had very little people occupying it and I..." I started to say.

"You don't need to apologize. You just took a risk to try and rescue me. If I were in the same position as you, I would've done the same thing," Nomad replied.

"So, what happened to the Sages?" Zero Two asked.

"The klaxosaur killed them. Which is both a good and bad thing for us."

"Bad how?" Goro asked.

"When I was up there... Papa and the Vice Chairman... I saw them do things that we were never capable of. Whoever they were... WHATever they were... they weren't human. Whoever sent them here clearly wants both us and the klaxosaurs dead. And I think that our war with these invaders is only just beginning," Nomad said.

"So... what happens now?" Futoshi asked.

"Leadership of APE was handed over to Haichi. He told me that he plans to relocate all of you to the Bird's Nest until the war is over. But, to be honest, I couldn't think of anyone who could protect us better than you guys."

"And what will happen to you?" I asked.

"Haichi told me where they were keeping my former partner. They say that she's been starting to remember who I am and she's been questioning where I am right now. He's given me the opportunity to see her before we prepare for the final battle," Nomad said.

"Will this be the last time we see you?" Kokoro asked. Nomad just gestured for us all to huddle together around him, which we did, and he put his hands on me and Hiro's shoulders.

"I honestly don't know what our future holds for us. But I need to go wherever I'm needed just like all of you need to go where you're needed. But I have faith that we'll see each other again when this war ends," he said.

"Then I guess this is goodbye for now. Thanks for all your help," Ikuno said, giving Nomad a hug. The rest of us followed suit and we all hugged Nomad goodbye.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I've had enough action for today. I'm ready to go in and take a nap until the transport's ready to take us to the Bird Nest," Miku said.

"We can do better! Let's celebrate Mitsuru and Kokoro's after-wedding and just take a moment to relax!" Futoshi said.

"That sounds like a great idea. Let's just enjoy our last moments here before we leave this place for good," Kokoro said before she took Mitsuru's hand and the two of them started to head back inside with Futoshi and Zorome following.

"Race you inside, Darling!" Zero Two said before she started to run toward Mistilteinn with Hiro trying to keep up with her and Miku and Ikuno following as well, leaving me and Nomad behind.

"You should be proud to be with such good friends like them. They're like a family," Nomad said.

"Yeah, I'm glad to be alongside them," I replied.

"I should get going as well. Haichi's probably expecting me to be back right now," Nomad said, turning to leave. But I just stood in my spot. There was so much that I wanted to ask him and I felt that I wouldn't get another chance to ask. Nomad must've sensed that I was still there because he suddenly stopped and glanced back at me.

"Something still on your mind?" he asked me.

"All this time, it felt like you were aware of what was going to happen, almost like you've seen these events before. I know you said that you've been watching us for some time, but I feel like there's more you aren't telling us. Who exactly are you?" I asked. Nomad just silently turned back around to face me before he removed his helmet, revealing the face of an unfamiliar man who had green eyes and short brown hair. I just stared at him for a few seconds in disbelief.

"Not who you were expecting?" Nomad finally asked.

"Not really. I just... had this crazy idea that you were... Hiro."

"That sounds plausible but it also sounds very unlikely."

"I know it does. I was just... sounding a bit crazy here."

"It never hurts to be sure. I know that some of the things I did made it look like I knew everything that would happen, but in truth, I didn't. I mean, if I did, I wouldn't have gotten myself captured earlier."

"But, if that's true, then why did you come here just to protect us? What exactly did you hope to accomplish aside from what happened today?" I asked. Nomad just looked back at me and flashed me a smile.

"A question for another day. See you around, kid," he replied before he put his helmet back on and got back on his ship, leaving me with more questions than answers as the ship flew away.

**Max's perspective**

"That was very heartfelt of you, Max," Nikki said as I came back onto the bridge of the Centurion.

"You could hear all of that?" I asked.

"Your comm was left on," Zero Two said, pointing to her ear. I just smiled and sat down in one of the chairs as Celeste set up the controls and fired up the engines.

"All right, we're ready for takeoff. Keep your fingers crossed and this hopefully works!" she said before the Centurion took off and she activated the QVE hyperdrive. The Centurion shot forward like an arrow and we travelled through hyperspace once again until we felt a sudden jolt and Celeste pulled the lever back and we stopped smack in the void of space.

"Did it work?" Odango asked.

"Well, my home beacon seems to be working now. Rhea?" Celeste asked.

"Yes. I can hear my ancestors again. But, how long were we gone?" Rhea said.

"Not long at all it seems. Look!" Amki said, pointing out the window. All of us looked out and saw a small ship being pursued by a much larger ship that was firing down upon it. I didn't recognize at first, but I soon realized that it was the Centurion being attacked by the Overlord's ship.

"We've come back to the point before we left. Before we ended up in Hiro and Zero Two's dimension," I said. Celeste immediately activated the hyperdrive again and we disappeared into the void before we were spotted again.

"So... what happens now?" Zero Two asked.

"It's time for us to start fighting back. We need to regroup and plan out where we're going to strike next. We stop them. Whatever it takes," Celeste said as we continued to move through hyperspace.

**To Be Continued...**

**Chapter Epilogue: Earth 2139, After the War, Ichigo's perspective**

They were gone. Our own two friends. Gone. All of us were sitting around where Zero Two's statue once was, a tiny little plant growing from the middle of where she once stood. My heart was completely sunk at the thought of us never seeing our friends again, despite the fact that they had beaten back VIRM and destroyed their home planet.

"I can't believe that after all this... they're gone," Ikuno said in sadness.

"I know. It's just... so much to take in," Kokoro said as her daughter, Ai, continued to rub her head to comfort her. As we continued to mourn the dead, we heard footsteps coming from behind us. It was Haichi.

"I figured that I'd find you all out here," he said, putting his hand on Goro's shoulder.

"Nomad?" I asked, my voice breaking a bit.

"I haven't been able to get in contact with him or the Plantation where he was stationed at. He's either missing or he's dead."

"Why'd you come out here looking for us?" Zorome asked.

"There's something that you need to see," Haichi replied, leading us all inside the Bird's Nest to the main control room, which was surprisingly empty, safe for Nana, who was sitting at one of the consoles.

"Where is everyone?" Futoshi asked.

"I asked them all to leave so that we could show you this," Haichi said, pressing a button which pulled up a blank holo-screen before it went black.

"Uh... what exactly is this?" Miku asked.

"We think it was Hiro's last message to all of you," Nana said before Haichi pressed a button which made the video play, revealing Hiro in a dark room with only the light of the camera or whatever he was using shining on him.

"So... this is to the Squad. I'm sorry if this seems a bit awkward. I've never done one of these before. I just want to say that I know how you all felt when I proposed that I go and save Zero Two, even though I knew that it could possibly end in my death. I know that you said that doing so was... selfish, mainly because I was disregarding everyone else's feelings. But, protecting our loved ones... that's what we've always done from the start. And that's why it hurts so much when we fail. When Nomad saved us that day, he showed us what it means to protect those whom we love, no matter what. I don't know exactly what the future will hold for us or for our planet. But what I do know is that we have a responsibility to our species and to our families. YOU were the best family that I could ever hope for. And I'm damn proud to have been a part of the Squad. See you all on the flip side," the recording said before Hiro put his hand on the screen. The tears came to my eyes as I put my hand on the holo-screen, followed by the rest of the Squad as we all put ours hands together to match Hiro's.

"Goodbye, Hiro," I said as we all sat there in silence.


	14. Chapter 14: The Hunted

HuniePop Space Adventures

Chapter 14: The Hunted

Usually when you look at yourself in the mirror, it's when you're trying to find something out of place. Maybe your hair is messed up or out of place or maybe you have a zit that's just bothering you. For me, what I was trying to get rid of was much worse than either of those things. What was out of place was something evil. Something that I had wanted to get rid of since the moment we had started this whole...

"OK, seriously. What the hell is so interesting in that damn mirror?" Nikki asked me as I continued to inspect myself in the mirror.

"When was the last time I shaved? A week ago? Five days ago?" I asked.

"That's not why you're looking in that mirror and you know it."

"Alpha told the Sages that my eyes were red when I fought the soldiers at Plantation 13. Just trying to figure out exactly what he meant."

"Max..." Nikki said, trying to get my attention. But I just ignored her and continued to try and look for any unusualities.

"Look, I know that I sound paranoid, but I just have to be sure so that none of our team gets hurt," I said.

"Max..."

"This is a risk that I can't take. For the sake of our friends and the sake of..." I continued to ramble until something hit me in the back of the head. I turned around and saw that Nikki had thrown a book at me to get me to stop talking.

"Did you... throw a book at me?" I asked as I gave her a confused look and held the back of my head.

"Max, you're acting all paranoid and it's freaking me out. Look, I know that I wasn't there when you defeated the Sages, but I know that you're able to control whatever it is that you have inside of you. Even if you do feel that you can't control it... I know that you can fight against it, no matter how dangerous it is. So, stop worrying about it," Nikki said as she walked up to me and gently hugged me. I just smiled and returned the hug, holding her tightly.

"You always try to see the best in me, don't you?"

"Hey. Being with you taught me to do that. In fact, I'd like to say that you rubbed off onto me a bit."

"I guess I did, huh?" I replied. After I had shaved and freshened up, we both headed for the bridge, where Hiro, Celeste and Eila were, along with Zero Two, who was spinning around in a swivel chair.

"You having fun?" I asked.

"Trying to think," Zero Two replied as she continued to spin in the chair.

"About what?" Nikki asked. Zero Two just stopped spinning in the chair and gave her a smile.

"Wedding plans," she replied. I heard Hiro loudly sigh behind me and saw him holding his face in his hands.

"Look, I'm sorry. I keep telling her that we should postpone, but she's been extremely stubborn about it," he said.

"Because I DON'T want to wait any longer for the two of us to get married when there's a possibility that we could die before the mission is over. Plus, we've been together for about two years. Don't you think that it was time we finally got married?"

"It's not that I don't want to get married! It's just that I think that it's poorly timed is all!"

"No, it's not. You're just getting cold feet like any soon-to-be husband would be!" Zero Two teased. As the two continued to bicker, I walked up to Celeste, who was busy driving the ship.

"So? How's it coming?" I asked.

"Well, Zero Two's been asking me to find any good spots for their wedding, but I haven't found any yet. She's been going through designs for her dress and..." Celeste started to say.

"No, I meant how is Rhea coming with the book we got from the prison?"

"OH! She's actually making some progress with that. It's taking a bit longer than expected, but I've asked everyone to stay out of her room and not to disturb her. She's only ever left her room during mealtime and showers. She's concentrating very hard."

"Great. Her full concentration is what we need to win this war."

"Max... are you all right?"

"I'm fine, just trying to remain focused on..." I started to say before a blinking red light got my attention. It also got the attention of Eila, who began repeatedly tapping it as if was trying to either make it stop or she was easily entranced by it.

"Uh, is that bad?" I asked. Instead of answering, Celeste turned her attention to the light and pressed a button next to it, which pulled up a display of a rather bleakish-looking planet with the computer's reticle pointing to a desolate part of the planet.

"This is rather odd. We're getting an encrypted message from the planet, Actaeon," she said.

"What's on Actaeon?" Nikki asked, walking over to us.

"Nothing but death and a lot of apex predators. The last time anyone who wasn't from this planet set foot on it, they were never heard of again."

"So, why are we getting a message from someone living on a dead planet?" I asked.

"I don't know. But this message sounds like a cry for help more than anything," Celeste said.

"It could be one of the Overlord's scouts."

"I thought that was possible, but this message was sent on a frequency that the Overlord's scouts don't use. Max, I understand that you're being cautious, but we must always be willing to help someone in trouble. And if push comes to shove, we will be ready if the Overlord and his minions do show up."

"Then I guess that we don't really have much of a choice. To Actaeon it is," I said.

"ROAD TRIP!" Zero Two yelled, buckling her seatbelt.

"NEVER shout that ever again unless it's appropriate," Nikki said as she and Hiro strapped themselves in. Within a few minutes, we arrived at our destination. As we started to land, I saw that we were landing on the outskirts of a forest of some kind, except the trees were almost stripped of their vegetation. All around us on the ground were some kind of deer-like creatures which immediately scattered before we landed. The rest of the team came onto the bridge after we landed and we all took a look at our surroundings.

"Well, you were right about this place, Celeste. It looks like death happened here and then some," Amki said.

"This planet... its aura... how can so much savagery exist in just one place? And the innocents that inhabit this place..." Rhea said, tears coming to her eyes.

"Celeste, where's the signal coming from? I don't think that many of us want to stay here too long," I said. Celeste pressed a button on the console and pulled up the radar, which showed a steadily beeping dot coming from the transmission.

"It says that the source of the transmission is directly in front of us," she replied.

"What, that mysterious cloaked person standing out by the cliff looking all ominous?" Zero Two said, pointing out the window of the ship. Sure enough, there WAS a mysterious figure standing right next to the edge of a cliff, his (or her) robes flowing with the wind. It did look a bit ominous, to tell the truth.

"OK. All of this points directly ta 'trap'. Anyone agree with me?" Rhonda asked. Pretty much everyone on the bridge raised their hands in agreement.

"Celeste, is the radar picking up anything beyond that cliff?" I asked.

"No, there's nothing. Even if one of his scout's ships were cloaked, I can easily pick up the ship's frequency, so there's no way they could sneak up on us even if they tried," Celeste replied. I looked back up at the mysterious figure outside and thought for a minute. If this figure actually needed help, why would he or she summon us to the worst possible spot in the galaxy?

"Let's not keep our contact waiting then," I said as was leaving. But before I could get out the door, Nikki grabbed my arm and stopped me.

"Max, I don't think that this is a very good idea. Even if it isn't the Overlord, who's to say it isn't someone we can trust?" she asked.

"I agree. You can't go out there. At least not without assistance," Celeste said, handing me a small device. It was cylindrical with a green button on top of it and bright blue lines running down it, like it was pulsating.

"What's this?" I asked.

"A portable teleporter. If this turns out to be an ambush, press the button on top and you'll be transported back here in an instant. Make sure to use it THE SECOND before trouble starts or you might bring unwanted attention with you," Celeste explained. I gave her a nod and then headed outside. The soft chirping of the few birds in the trees and the howls of the animals in the distance made the ambience of my surroundings even more scary than how it looked onboard the ship and even though the forest wasn't that dense, I could feel that I was being watched. When I finally got to the cliffs, the cloaked figure didn't turn around or even acknowledge me.

"You picked a hell of a spot to meet me. You couldn't have picked a better spot for us to meet?" I asked. The figure didn't answer and just continued to stare out at the horizon like it was more interesting than me.

"Could you at least tell me why I'm here or why you need to talk to me?" I asked.

"I thought that would've been obvious," the figure finally said in a feminine voice. Her voice sounded oddly familiar and when she removed her hood, I got conformation to my suspicions when I saw her pink eyes, her blonde hair, and the black mask covering her mouth. It was Selene, one of the Overlord's minions we had fought before. I tried to push the button on the portable teleporter the second she revealed herself, but Selene was quick to react and grabbed my hand with her whip, wrenching the teleporter free from my hand.

"You're quick…" I said.

"You tried to flee before I could explain my intentions. I'm not here to hurt you. And I no longer work for the Overlord," Selene replied, releasing my hand.

"Yeah, well, forgive me if I find that hard to believe. So, what the hell are you doing all the way out here and why did you ask to meet me here on this… nightmare landscape of a planet?"

"This planet is my home. I know that may not seem like it's the safest place for us to meet, but I had to meet you someplace where I felt comfortable. I'm sorry that I couldn't pick a place that was more to your liking than what I liked. But I believe that it'll be worth it when you hear what I have to say."

"Well, spit it out already."

"Do you see that abandoned facility all the way out there in the distance?" Selene asked, pointing to a lone metallic structure sitting at the base of a mountain surrounded by forest.

"What about it?" I asked.

"That facility was abandoned for almost 5 years, but it was reactivated very recently. I have reason to believe that the Overlord has stationed someone at that facility for some kind of purpose."

"And what purpose is that?"

"I would tell you, but I must share this with the rest of your crew as well."

"And what makes you think that I'll just let you on the ship?"

"Because if I was still working with the Overlord, I already would've knocked you out and we wouldn't be here. Look… I need you to trust me. What we need to do means life or death for all of us and taking out that facility could eliminate a key component of the Overlord's plans," Selene replied. I just sighed and rubbed my eyes for a bit in thought before picking up the portable teleporter.

"I guess that we could use the help. Follow me," I said, motioning for her to follow and we made our way back to the Centurion.

"Thank you. I understand that it might be very hard for me to earn your trust, but I promise that you and your team will not regret it," Selene said as we were approaching the Centurion.

"Yeah, about that…" I said right before I grabbed Selene's wrist and pinned her wrist to a tree with a metal cuff. Selene struggled to try and get free, but the cuff was stuck too far into the tree for her to be able to get it unstuck.

"I need to talk things over with the rest of the team before we can let you on. Don't go anywhere until I get back," I said, leaving Selene to stand glumly under the tree as I headed inside the Centurion and headed straight for the bridge where everyone else saw the events unfolding.

"Nice technique. I really thought that you were just going to let her in like that," Zero Two said.

"I'm trying to be more cautious. Celeste, what are your thoughts?" I asked.

"I ran everything we've heard from her through a polygraph simulation. Everything she's told you was true," Celeste said.

"You mean to tell me she wasn't fibbin'?" Rhonda asked.

"The simulation monitors the speech of a person for any fluctuation of any kind or any conflicting phrases. If she was lying, she's doing a rather convincing job of making it seem like she isn't lying. And I scrubbed through her speech three times. She isn't lying."

"Plus, her tone indicates that she's actually frightened of… something or someone. It's possible that she's so frightened that she actually requested help from US. Which makes me a bit concerned," Eva said.

"Or she's scared of ME and she's asking for redemption because of what she's done," I said.

"Max, I don't trust her either, but if she's offering an opportunity for us to take out one of the Overlord's joint operations, we should take that offer and see what she knows," Celeste said.

"And what the hell was Rhea's excuse?" Amki asked, crossing her arms.

"A poor judgement on my part. But Selene has worked with the Overlord, which means she may have information about where his strongholds and laboratories may lie."

"Hey," Zero Two said, trying to get our attention. But none of us were listening and we continued to argue amongst ourselves.

"But, Celeste, why would Selene just suddenly defect from the Overlord and join us? She'd be posing as a double agent and we probably never know that until the second before she betrays us!" Nikki said.

"Then we monitor her every move if we do let her on. Listen, this is an opportunity that we can't afford to waste, whatever the cost may be," Celeste replied.

"Guys!" Zero Two yelled louder, trying again to get our attention again, only for us to not hear her.

"What if that price is too high for us to pay? Maybe we should just tap into her mind for information and then drop her off at the nearest prison!" Hiro said.

"I support that idea!" Odango agreed, raising her hand.

"I also support that idea. I say we go with it," Amki replied, also raising her hand.

"Hiro, we don't have the technology to perform a procedure like that here and I'm not so sure that doing so would yield any results if she was trained at length by the Overlord," Celeste said.

"HEY!" Zero Two finally yelled, fed up with us ignoring her.

"WHAT?! We're busy talking here, Zero Two!" Nikki replied.

"Well, I'm sorry to interrupt this 'important' talk of yours, but before you resume arguing with each other, does anyone wanna tell what the hell that is on our windshield?" Zero Two asked, pointing up at the upper window of the Centurion. Sure enough, when we looked up, something rather scary looking WAS standing on the top window. It looked like some kind of grey-skinned humanoid creature about 6 feet tall with a posture like that of a gorilla, but its long muscular arms ended in hands with four long, sharp claws on each finger. The back of the creature was covered in hair or a light fur of some kind with spines rising out of its back, but the most disturbing thing about it was creature's jaws consisted of a whole bunch of sharp teeth which were so big that it's jaws couldn't shut properly and it's eyes were pitch black. The creature was sniffing the air as if it were searching for something and it drooled on the window for a brief second as it looked around.

"Well… That's disturbing," Amki said as Celeste walked over to me and Nikki.

"One of this planet's residents, I'm guessing?" Nikki asked.

"I'm actually not familiar with most of the creatures that inhabit this place, so I wouldn't be able to tell you which species it is unless we can find it in the database," Celeste replied.

"Well, it's sitting on the roof of this ship for SOME kind of reason and it's just pacing back and forth. Do we even know what it's doing?" Nikki asked. I had to admit, it DID look like the creature was looking for something because if it wasn't bothered by us, it would have moved on by now. After a few seconds, the creature stopped sniffing the air and got into a stalking stance before it took a few steps forward. I looked in the direction the creature was looking and noticed that Selene was trying in vain to get free of her restraints, a frightened look on her face.

"It's hunting…" I said, before I immediately ran to the cargo bay and ran out the door. I stopped short of the nose of the Centurion to ready my shotgun right as the creature hopped down to sniff Selene's scent, opening its jaws in a terrifying manner before it let out a roar that sent chills down my spine. Right as the creature went in for the kill, I fired a blast from my shotgun which greatly injured and knocked back the creature, but it didn't fully kill it. The monster turned back to face me and roared before charging at me. Before the creature could get its teeth into me, I swiftly thrusted my arm blade into the creature's chest and slit its torso open before I snapped the creature's neck and it slumped lifeless to the ground. Selene let out a sigh of relief as I retracted my arm blade and took the cuff off of her arm.

"Y'know, you could've told me about this, and I would've placed you a bit closer to the cargo bay doors," I said. Selene just scoffed at me before I led her inside.

**Nikki's perspective**

Have you ever performed a dissection on a frog in middle school or high school? I did once. And it was GROSS. The thought of having to cut into a dead animal just to learn about its anatomy was one of the most disgusting things that I had ever done, not to mention the smell of it. Of course, times change when you get older but, right now, with Celeste performing a study of the creature that Max had killed, I began to get a flashback of me vomiting in science class when we first did a dissection.

"Several enlarged canines mostly at the front of the mouth. Obviously suggests that this predator isn't keen on chewing. There is evidence that this creature goes through a large number of teeth in its lifetime much like Earth's sharks. A study of its brain cavity shows that this creature has heightened senses of smell and hearing as well as improved night vision," Celeste said into a recording device as she opened the mouth of the creature and studied it. All of us were sitting quietly around the table where Celeste was performing her study, safe for Eva, who was trying to find a match to the creature in the database, and Selene, who was cuffed to one of the chairs.

"Are you done yet?" Zero Two finally asked. Celeste just turned off her recorder and stood up, adjusting her gloves.

"The anatomy of this creature confirms it… it's some kind of super-predator. One that doesn't fit any other description of other super-predators that live on this planet," she replied.

"If by 'doesn't fit the description' you mean doesn't exist anywhere in the Actaeon database, then you would be absolutely correct, Celeste. Of all the scientists that have explored this planet, it seems that none of them have even SEEN something like this," Eva replied.

"Selene, what can you tell us about this thing?"

"It has no known name, but my people merely refer to these creatures as the 'Bloodhunters'. The scent of even a small drop of blood will make an entire pack run towards the source. They are ruthless, bloodthirsty, and destructive and they won't hesitate to kill everything that gets in their way," Selene said.

"Why is it that they aren't in the database?" Eva asked.

"There has been a rumor amongst my people that these creatures were created by the scientists that arrived here 6 years ago. When the first Bloodhunters were created, they broke loose, slaughtered most of the scientists and they spread over a large area of this planet like wildfire. They killed several of my people and their numbers have been steadily climbing recently. I've devoted my entire life to wiping out these abominations and giving my people another chance at living without fear again."

"And I'm guessing that the Overlord promised you that he would do that in exchange for your services?" Rhonda asked. Selene just nodded sadly in reply.

"And what exactly does any of this have to do with the giant metal structure out there?" Max asked.

"That structure was where the scientists created the Bloodhunters. But almost 12 hours ago, it was mysteriously reactivated by something or someone. I sought to try and find out exactly what was going on and who was behind all of it-," Selene started to say.

"And yet, here you are," Zero Two interrupted.

"Because the facility is surrounded by an abnormally large amount of Bloodhunters. I felt that asking for your help would be better than me just rushing in and running the risk of getting myself killed."

"The facility… how far away is it from here?" Celeste asked.

"A day's walk. More or less depending on the circumstances. Assuming that all of you are in agreement, of course," Selene replied, making all of us look at each other for everyone's answer.

"I mean, if this means us killing a whole bunch of bad things just to save people, I'm in," Amki said.

"I agree. And, just like Celeste said, this could be an opportunity to destroy one of the Overlord's possible operations, assuming that the facility plays a part in his plans," Eva agreed. I looked over at Max, who had a disapproving look on his face before he let out a sigh.

"Alright. We'll do it your way, Selene. BUT… if there is even a HINT of betrayal from you, not even the Overlord will save you. Do I make myself clear?" he asked in a stern voice. Selene just nodded in response and Max nodded back before we all separated and got ready for hike that laid ahead. As I was helping out Celeste with packing a few supplies, I noticed that Max was sitting down and holding his head like he was in pain.

"Max, are you OK?" I asked, holding his hand.

"I'm fine. Just tired is all," Max replied, smiling a bit. I just looked at him funny and put my hand on his head.

"Are you sure? It feels like you have a fever or something."

"I'm sure. I'm just a bit stressed is all. I mean, we're heading into a forest filled with the most dangerous predators on this planet and our only hope lies with one of the Overlord's accomplices."

"Max, I don't trust her either. But, right now, she's all that we have to help us get through the forest so we can reach the facility. If she does betray us, it will be on her," Celeste said. As we were talking, we heard a knock on the door and saw Amki standing in the doorway.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt, but look who just came back to the land of the living," she said before moving to the side and revealing a rather familiar face: Ayano Aishi. Ayano was Max's "friend" whom we had fought against a while back when she was possessed by an Infernite that made her insane. Hell, she was insane even before she became an experiment. But here she was, standing in the doorway, wearing a hospital gown and looking a bit groggy but also a bit saner than she used to. Or so it seemed.

"Ayano. I trust that you are feeling well again?" Celeste asked.

"A little. Just a bit confused by the alien that greeted me when I woke up," Ayano replied. I saw out of the corner of my eye that Max was looking a bit nervous and was sweating a little.

"But… other than that, you OK… right?" he asked nervously. Ayano just smiled and put a hand on her cheek before looking back at us.

"Of course, I'm alright… Senpai…" she replied, giving Max and me a crazy look with her eye twitching a bit.

"Sooooo, are we gonna bring her with us or do you want to leave her here?" Amki asked.

"Better to be safe than sorry. Get her dressed and ready to move out within the next few minutes," Celeste said.

"You got it, Boss. C'mon Ayano, let's go get packed," Amki replied. Ayano just stared at us with a sadistic grin on her face as she walked away.

"Amki. If she starts acting even more crazy, I need you to restrain her. The last thing we need is someone dying because of her," Max said before Amki left. She just gave Max the "OK" sign and then left to help Ayano. After about 20 minutes, we began our journey through the forest and made our way towards the mysterious facility. The forest was full of many different creatures that either turned and ran away from us or just stood in place and watched us walk by. The only thing that I found a bit strange was that there were very few predators that we encountered, although I kinda figured that very few would actually pick a fight with the large, four-armed alien that was traveling with us. After several hours of us walking, the sun began to set and it began to get dark. While the sounds of the forest and its inhabitants were very lively at first, it got WAY more abundant as soon as dusk fell. In fact, I could make out the silhouettes of some predatory creatures stalking us as soon as it got darker.

"OK, WHY did all the predators wait until NOW to stalk us?" Odango asked as she pointed her flashlight arm at the trees.

"Most of the predatory species that live on this planet are nocturnal. And I'm willing to bet that the ones that were active during the day were afraid of our Quadrasapien friend here," Selene replied, pointing back at Amki.

"Odango, how many different lifeforms are around us?" Eva asked. Odango just shot her a mad look and showed Eva her radar, which had a whole bunch of dots surrounding the middle.

"There are about 50 or more individual lifeforms all around us! The only problem is that I can't tell which out of these lifeforms are harmless and which ones are hostile!"

"We don't seem to be too far from the facility now. We should make camp here for tonight and resume our trek first thing in the morning. Eva and Rhonda, set up a perimeter with turrets at each corner. Nikki, take Selene with you and gather some wood for a fire. Hiro, Zero Two, Odango, and Amki will set up tents for us and Max and I will keep an eye out for potential dangers," Celeste said.

"And what are those three supposed to do?" Hiro asked, pointing to Goo, Eila, and Ayano, who viciously stabbed a small lizard with a knife that she swiped off of Celeste before she looked back at us with another sadistic smile.

"Eila and Goo can watch Ayano until we can properly find someplace where she can sleep without her trying to kill anyone," Celeste replied. After Eva and Rhonda set up a perimeter, me and Selene headed into the forest to grab some wood. Surprisingly, there weren't any predators around to distract us as I gathered wood.

"Your team is quite an effective one. I can see why the Overlord holds you in high regards," Selene said.

"Yeah, well, pretty soon he'll have more things to worry about than how effective we are," I replied.

"Though… did Max seem a bit… agitated to you?"

"He's just trying to stay focused is all. That and he doesn't trust you."

"We both know that's not the case. It runs much deeper than that. The energy…"

"OK, guess what? That energy may make him a bit angrier, but all he's really done is kill bad people and aliens. Nothing bad really happened whenever he went berserk," I said as I piled up the wood I had gathered and prepared to pick it up.

"It may seem that way, but in time, he will lose himself to his anger and his sorrow. That's what that energy does. It brings his innermost negative emotions to the surface and the energy feeds off of those emotions like a power battery," Selene explained.

"I'm guessing that the Overlord told you all that?"

"Indeed, he did. The Overlord told me that wielding that energy is only for someone of his own strength and mind. Max may have a strong soul and mind, but he is still only human. He is too fragile to wield power like that. In fact, NO ONE should be given power like that."

"As long as it isn't in the Overlord's hands, we should be just fine until he's killed. Or imprisoned. Whichever comes first."

"…Max doesn't know, does he?"

"About what?"

"I think that you know. That tiny little secret that you're trying so hard to hide from him," Selene said. My entire body went cold the second that she said that.

"H-h-how did you know?" I asked, shivering a bit with an angry look on my face.

"I'm a natural born predator. I can sense when you're in distress," Selene replied. In the blink of an eye, I forced her up against a tree with my forearm pressed hard against her throat and placed a sword tip against her forehead.

"Listen here, bitch. I don't know what you think it is I'm hiding, but it is NONE of GODDAMN BUSINESS, OK? And the LAST thing that I need is for Max to worry about MY problems!"

"I'm not threatening. But if you keep this sort of thing under wraps, it will be a lot harder on you if he does find out and you may lose him forever."

"That… will be my concern when all of this is over. Until then, you either help us or stay out of the way. Clear?" I asked. Selene just nodded and I backed down before I picked up the pile of wood and we made our way back to camp.

**Max's perspective**

Nighttime fell pretty fast over the entire forest. Everyone was asleep inside their tents except for me, Celeste, Ayano, and Selene. Aside from the turrets that were pointed out at the forest surrounding us, me and Celeste were keeping a lookout for any potential dangers while Selene and Ayano were both chained to a tree stump. That might sound like a problem, but we made sure that Ayano couldn't even get within arm's reach of Selene. She seemed to actually be grateful, mainly because Ayano stabbed another lizard to death with her knife… and then ate its tail like a psycho.

"I can see why you recommended to keep her away from Selene," Celeste stated as Ayano began to cook the lizard over the fire.

"Ayano, you just ate dinner. How can you still be hungry?" Selene asked.

"Because she's a psycho…" I replied half-heartedly.

"All that I had was a small bowl of beans, Senpai. I got hungry again," Ayano replied. I angrily rubbed my eyes in distress before looking back at her with an angry glare.

"Ayano, I'm gonna say this just once: Don't EVER call me Senpai again for the rest of your pathetic life," I growled. Ayano just grinned at me before taking a bite of her meal. I just leaned back and looked up at the starry sky, deep in thought.

"I can see why you hate her. She seems very unhinged," Selene said as she stared up at the sky with me.

"Unhinged? Try 'completely fucking insane'."

"That too. Even the Overlord thought that it was unwise for Info to make her a part of her projects. But he found her motivations rather interesting."

"Yeah… sure."

"Is it true what she says? She took away the first love of your life?"

"Look, whatever she may have told you about her, it was completely false. My first girlfriend was the sweetest human being that I ever knew. She was everything to me. And Ayano took her from me. As if she was that desperate to have me."

"I'm… so sorry," Selene replied. I just scoffed in reply.

"Don't play the pity card with me, OK? I don't need you to feel bad just because I got dealt a bad hand," I said.

"I know loss as well, Max. And it wasn't just my people that I lost. Almost 2 years after the Bloodhunters were unleashed on our world, our living conditions became completely harsh. We had to move around so much, me and my family, just so we could stay ahead of them. But we soon ran low on food and had to resort to eating flesh from dead carcasses to stay alive. My father caught botulism from a rotting corpse and died within hours. And almost a month after that, the Bloodhunters caught up to us and butchered my mother. I tried to save her, but the Bloodhunters ended up scarring my face and me and my brother were the only ones left to take care of each other. The Overlord took us in when we were left with basically nothing. Back then, I respected him. But ever since he did, I still felt like I was missing something. A part of me that I lost due to my anger and my suffering."

"Sounds to me like the Overlord should be setting a better example. I mean, look at you. You're capable of so much more than just killing people for the sake of his mission. You're better than this."

"Perhaps… But, for now, we should get some sleep. We can discuss more about my fate tomorrow," Selene said before she grabbed a blanket a fell asleep under the full moon of the night, leaving me to just stare at the starry sky once more.

**Hiro's perspective, the next morning**

The morning chorus of the birds woke me from my slumber. I slowly opened my eyes and moved my arm to wake Zero Two up, but all that was beside me was an empty blanket. I exited my tent and stretched my back and arms as I stepped out into the daylight, looking up at the morning sky. Amki was busy packing up the turrets while Odango and Eva were busy taking readings of the area. Ayano was sound asleep with her knife in her hand and Rhonda was leaned up against the tree alongside Eila and Goo, staring at the birds as they flew by.

"Morning, sleepyhead. Have a good sleep?" Amki asked me.

"Barely. The noise kept me up most of the night," I replied.

"Well, it's a good thing ya woke up. Celeste says that we're headin' out once we get everything packed up," Rhonda said.

"Sounds like a plan. Hey, have any of you seen Zero Two?"

"Not me. Selene said that she had breakfast with her and Nikki ten minutes ago, but she didn't say where she went after that," Amki replied.

"Well, either way, I need to go wash up quick before we leave," I said, grabbing a towel from inside my tent.

"There's a small pond with a waterfall back that way," Selene said, pointing behind her. I just nodded and headed in that direction. As I was walking, I heard the sounds of roaring and screeching throughout the forest. Normally, I wouldn't have been too scared to hear these sounds, but I was walking through the forest without my weapons and wearing nothing but my underwear. But I reached the pond without any trouble and set my towel down. The waterfall was extremely beautiful, and it felt like it was a bit out of place on a hostile planet like this. Right as I was about to take off my underwear, I heard a small splash behind me and instinctively bolted behind a tree. After it had quieted down a bit, I peeked out from behind the tree to see what exactly was in the water. To my complete surprise, it was Zero Two, who was busy washing herself down underneath the waterfall. She had left her clothes on the other side of the pond, leaving her completely nude figure out in the open as she continued to wash herself. She gently fondled her breasts as she washed down her chest and her hands wandered down to her crotch. I assumed that she was thinking about me being there with her, but I was so enthralled by her display that I nearly lost my footing and accidentally stepped on a twig, which let out a loud snap. I immediately pulled my head back behind the tree and waited for a few seconds before I heard another splash. I looked back out at the pond, but Zero Two was nowhere to be found. I ran over to a tree that was a bit closer to the pond and peeked out again. I did see a small trail of bubbles on the surface that were swirling all around the pond before disappearing completely. I figured that Zero Two was underwater and just stayed behind the tree. After about 20 seconds, I started to get a little anxious, but I thought that she was expecting me to rush in and save her like last time, despite the fact that she actually wasn't drowning. But I was too focused on the water that I didn't realize that I was being snuck up on.

"Found you," Zero Two whispered into my ear before she nibbled on it. I let out a small yelp and whirled around to find Zero Two, naked and wet, standing behind me with a smug grin on her face.

"Don't do that! You almost gave me a heart attack for God's sake!" I said, panting heavily.

"Were you enjoying the show?"

"I… don't know what you're talking about," I replied, looking away. Zero Two just smiled and playfully pushed me into the water. As I resurfaced, Zero Two waded into the water after me and put her arms around me.

"How does the water feel?" she asked.

"A bit cold. But… that may be because I just… woke up."

"But I feel warm… right?" Zero Two asked, wrapping her legs around my waist. I began to sweat a little as my underwear got a little tight.

"You could say that…" I replied sheepishly. Zero Two just smiled again and kissed me tenderly. Before I knew it, I was gently fondling her breast and my other arm was wrapped around her waist. For a brief moment, I had completely forgotten about where we were, but I quickly snapped back to reality and broke off the kiss, staring into Zero Two's eyes.

"Y'know, I was thinking about you not too long ago. You and me here… just enjoying this private time to ourselves. Swimming together. Bathing together."

"…You told Selene where you were going, didn't you?"

"Well, give her credit. This place was a great one for us to be alone. Besides, I wanted us to be alone so we could talk."

"About our wedding arrangements? Zero Two, don't you think that it would be better for us to wait until this whole thing is over?"

"While there's still a chance that we might not make it through this? Like hell. Plus, we've been together long enough to start thinking about marriage, right?" Zero Two asked. I just smiled and kissed her again.

"It's really hard to change your mind about something, isn't it?" I said, putting my hands on her face. But before I could kiss her again, she put her hand on my lips as if to tell me to be quiet and looked towards the forest.

"Shhh," she whispered.

"What? I'm not saying that it's a bad thing! It's just that…" I started to say before Zero Two covered my entire mouth with her hand.

"Quiet!" she hissed before she dragged back behind the waterfall and pointed to the forest. Her silence was well deserved because something came walking out of the forest, curiously sniffing the ground. It was another Bloodhunter, but this one was 2 feet taller than the one that we saw yesterday, and it looked more ferocious and terrifying. Its arms were covered in spikes that ran all the way up to its shoulders. The spikes on its back were larger and looked more like blades. But, the most terrifying feature out of all those was its head. It had a lot more teeth than the other one and its eyes were a blood red. The Bloodhunter stopped by the water's edge for a brief minute to drink some water before it turned its attention to Zero Two's clothes, which were still sitting on the bank, and curiously sniffed them. It then looked back up and stared directly at the waterfall that we were hiding behind, growling ferociously. I knew that it probably couldn't smell us because we were in the water and it DEFINITELY couldn't hear our heartbeats over the roaring waterfall, but there was still a pretty good chance that it could still see us through the water. My thinking was slightly confirmed when the creature took a step forward, its back spikes becoming tense and its mouth drooling. But when it took another step forward, it suddenly jolted a bit and began to make a gurgling noise before blood began to drip and its head fell off of its shoulders into the water. Both me and Zero Two were completely confused as to what was going on, but suddenly, Celeste's head just appeared out of nowhere, one of her katanas in hand. She then pressed something on what I assumed her wrist, making the rest of her body appear out of nowhere just as her head did before she took her hand and ran it down the blade of her katana, wiping the blood off of it, and then holstered it on her back.

"Zero Two! May I remind you to not leave your clothes out in the open like this? Our scent attracts predators!" Celeste yelled, throwing us off guard a bit. I began to sweat again, this time at the thought of Celeste actually knowing what we were both doing.

"Noted!" Zero Two acknowledged. Without another word, Celeste grabbed the Bloodhunter's head from the water and began to tow its body back to camp, leaving me and Zero Two completely dumbfounded. But we immediately shook it off and grabbed our stuff before we made a beeline back to camp. By the time that we had gotten back, the entire camp was picked up and everyone was ready to move out before Celeste dropped the Bloodhunter's body next to the campfire, leaving everyone speechless.

"What the hell were you up against?" Amki asked, walking over to the corpse.

"Another Bloodhunter. But this one looks larger than the other one we saw," Celeste replied. As Odango and Eva walked over to examine the corpse, Max looked toward me and Zero Two, who was still soaking wet.

"Where were you two?" he asked.

"I was taking a quick bath," Zero Two replied.

"I was… close by. Waiting for my turn," I said. Max gave me a raised eyebrow, but he didn't ask any further and looked back to the corpse as I took the opportunity to get dressed. As I slipped into my suit, Odango's wrist began to beep steadily.

"That's odd. My scanner's picking up traces of foreign chemicals in the creature's body. Kind of like… well, the equivalent of human steroids, but it's on a molecular level," she said.

"Have you seen anything like this?" Max asked Selene, who had a horrified look on her face.

"Never," she replied.

"So, wait. Are you saying that someone is… enhancing these things?" Nikki asked.

"It's very possible. That may be why the Overlord has someone at the facility. He's weaponizing them for his army," Celeste said.

"Where did you find it?" Eva asked as she inspected the creature's jaws.

"Out by the pond with the waterfall. I think it was a scout."

"A SCOUT?!" Selene yelled. She looked completely terrified.

"Yeah? Why is that a bad thing?" Nikki asked.

"Bloodhunter scouts never travel alone! If you found one of them, the rest of the pack may not be far behind!" Selene replied. All of us went quiet at that statement and our eyes went wide with fear. And then, from all around us, the silence was broken by the sound of violent rustling in the trees and ferocious snarling. In the blink of an eye, a Bloodhunter burst out of the woods and attacked Amki, biting down on her arm. While she was busy trying to get it off, 9 more Bloodhunters ran out into the clearing, baring their teeth and claws, and began to attack us. One Bloodhunter knocked me to the ground and tried to stab me with its claws, but I just rolled out of the way and grabbed my shotgun, firing a sticky bomb into the creature's throat which blew it up, spraying blood all over me. As we continued to fight, Celeste sliced the chain holding Selene and Ayano and tossed Selene her whip, which she immediately used to grab one of the Bloodhunters by the neck before she broke its neck. Amki tried in vain to get the Bloodhunter on her arm off, but the creature's teeth were too strong for her to get it off, so she grabbed its body with her other three arms and pulled until the creature's head and spine were ripped out. One of the Bloodhunters then pounced onto Zero Two, pinning her to the ground and baring its teeth, but before it could take a bite out of her, Ayano leapt onto the creature's back and started stabbing it maniacally until it finally fell to the ground dead. But that didn't stop her from continuing to stab it, even after it was dead. She was too into it that she didn't notice another Bloodhunter behind her. But Zero Two did, and she immediately electrocuted the monster with her electrostaff, causing it to stumble backward and get shot by Rhonda's revolver at point-blank range. Odango then fired up a sonic cannon which she aimed at the remaining Bloodhunters. The monsters screeched in pain from the noise until one was hit in the gut by Eva and then its head split in half by Celeste's katana. Rhea used her magic to turn the earth into quicksand which briefly trapped one of the creatures, but it got out of the dirt pretty fast. As it moved in for the kill, Goo trapped the creature again, followed by Eila electrocuting it and then Nikki crushing its head with two maces. Max squared off against the last two, knocking one back with a solid punch and holding the other one back with his forearm as it snapped its jaws repeatedly. When Max saw an opening, he grabbed the Bloodhunter's jaws and pried them apart until they snapped, leaving the creature to fall to the ground dead. As for the last creature, Max punched its head to stun it and then plunged his arm blade into the creature's shoulder, causing it to howl in pain. Seeing that it was now outnumbered and left with an injured arm, the Bloodhunter turned and began to limp away. Selene started to run after it, but Max stopped her from pursuing.

"What are you doing?! You should've killed it!" Selene snapped.

"It's wounded. It will probably head back to the rest of the pack to recover. But we'll be following behind to wherever that is. That's why I didn't kill it," Max replied.

"It looks to be heading towards the facility. Quite a wise move, Max," Celeste said.

"I already knew the way to the facility! You have to wound it just so we could get there!" Selene said. But Max just picked up his shotgun and put it on his back before he started to follow the Bloodhunter.

"If it starts to move in a direction that differs from what you think is right, let me know and we'll follow you," he said. All of us just grabbed our gear and began following behind him, back into the forest.

**Max's perspective**

It must've taken us a whole hour just to get to the mysterious facility. Of course, that was completely my fault, seeing as I wounded a Bloodhunter's shoulder and then let it lead us all the way to said facility while only staying a couple feet behind just so we wouldn't get spotted. But even that was starting to become a chore because we had to watch our surroundings to make sure that we didn't get ambushed.

"How much further? I think Ayano's about to stab her 13th small creature!" Amki said as she tried to restrain Ayano.

"It shouldn't be much farther, Amki. And keep your voice down. The last thing we need is to attract unwanted attention," I replied. Turns out that I was right, because as we came to the edge of the forest, I saw a path leading straight up to the facility doors. But I also saw an abnormally large number of Bloodhunters sitting around the path, just as Selene had earlier told us. I signaled to the team to head up the ridge overlooking the clearing and we hid behind the rocks before one of the Bloodhunters could hear or smell us. The Bloodhunter that I had injured walked up to the pack and was approached by what I could only assume was the leader of the pack. The pack member growled a little at the injured Bloodhunter and curiously sniffed the wound on its shoulder, but instead of tearing into the injured packmate, the pack leader gently nudged the injured packmate up the hill and lead it to a metal plate on the ground. When the injured Bloodhunter set foot on the plate, a group of metallic arms with needles on the ends sprang up and pierced into the flesh of the Bloodhunter, injecting some kind of liquid into the predator. Once the metallic arms retracted, the injured Bloodhunter began to roar in pain and curled up as its back spikes began to grow and its arms sprouted smaller spikes. After it had grown a few feet in height, the Bloodhunter let out a blood-curdling roar and found a place amongst the rocks to rest, allowing its wounds to heal.

"So that's how they've been getting enhanced," I whispered.

"Well, we've figured out how their getting all souped up and where the facility is. Now, how the hell do we get in?" Rhonda asked. As if to answer, Celeste released a small drone which flew over to the front of the facility and began scanning it. The Bloodhunters looked up briefly at the drone and a few roared menacingly at it, but they just simply ignored it otherwise. After the drone had finished scanning the building, it flew back to Celeste and attached to her wrist, showing a schematic of the entire facility.

"Well, there's good news and there's bad news," Celeste stated.

"What's the good news?" Nikki asked.

"The facility's structure is relatively strong, but it's not strong enough to block any signals going in or out. And the facility is protected by an electromagnetic barrier that's keeping the predators out. Once we've secured the facility and taken out the generator room, we can beam directly back to the ship the predators overrun it."

"And the bad news?" I asked. Celeste just pointed to the door at the front of the facility.

"That's the only way we can get in…" she said.

"Are you kidding? There aren't any windows or access ports on that building?!" Amki asked.

"There are, but they've been sealed tight. Whoever's operating this facility didn't want anyone getting in that easily. That door is the only way in."

"What about the sewers?" Hiro asked.

"Darling," Zero Two replied sternly.

"What? It's just an idea."

"The sewers are closed off as well, unfortunately," Celeste said.

"So, either we risk a frontal assault and die or… nope, I got nothin' else. Our only option is just fightin' our way through," Rhonda said, annoyed.

"Can we vote NOT to?" Odango said. As the others began to debate about what to do, I looked back out at the Bloodhunter pack sitting in front of the door. The majority of the pack was resting amongst the rocks while the sentries were keeping a lookout and the cubs were playfully fighting each other. The sentries turned their heads to the slightest sounds to see where they were coming from. But seeing them react to every sound that they heard gave me an idea.

"Selene, can I borrow your whip really quick?" I asked. Selene just raised an eyebrow at me like I was crazy.

"What for?" she asked.

"Just trust me."

"Max, what are you planning?" Nikki asked me as Selene handed me her whip.

"Just hang tight," I replied before I started to head down the side of the ridge with the whip in hand. As soon as I got to the ground, the Bloodhunters sentries started calling to the rest of the group to warn me of my presence. As some of the Bloodhunters began to guard the cubs, the enhanced Bloodhunter and a few others rushed over to face me head-on. Right as they were a few feet in front of me, I unfurled the whip and then cracked it right in front of me. As I suspected, the sudden loud noise caused the Bloodhunters to roar in pain and back away a bit. But they didn't go far before they started to close in on me again. I once again cracked the whip, which made the predators back up again, but I gave the team the signal to group up with me as I continued to drive the Bloodhunters off. The sound of the whip cracking soon became too much for them to handle and the mother Bloodhunters and their cubs retreated into the forest, leaving the others to fight us. As we made our way up to the door, I repeatedly cracked the whip mere inches in front of the Bloodhunters' faces to keep them at bay until Odango finally got the door open and we all got inside, the claws of the enhanced Bloodhunter nearly missing my face as the door closed.

"That was very clever of you," Selene remarked as I gave her back her whip.

"The thing about whips: when you crack them, they produce a mini sonic boom. And it's LOUD. Figured that would throw off their senses a bit," I said.

"Either way, we're in. What's the call, Celeste?" Nikki asked. Celeste pulled out her wrist computer and showed us a schematic of the entire facility.

"Me, Amki, Hiro, Eila and Eva will head for the generator room and attempt to overload it so that it will destroy this place while keeping the damage to the surrounding forest to a minimum. Rhonda, Odango, Goo, and Ayano will locate the terminal for the forcefield and shut it down so we can escape. Max, Nikki, Rhea, Zero Two, and Selene, you'll locate the main laboratory and stop the production of the enhancement drug and take down whoever's running this place. Any questions?" Celeste said.

"Actually, yes. Why exactly is the terminal for the forcefield separate from the laboratory?" Odango asked.

"Just in case of electrical outbursts, I would theorize," Eva replied.

"Any other questions? …All right, let's get going!" Celeste yelled before we split into our groups and ran through the facility to our respective destinations. My team ran through the hallway until we got to a large door which Nikki and I pried open so we could get to the upper levels. But, when we did reach the upper levels, we were greeted by a number of tubes along the sides of the walls. Each of the tubes contained an enhanced Bloodhunter with small tubes attached to their arms, which were filled with the same liquid we saw earlier. Selene walked up to one of said tubes and put her hand on it, as if she was actually sad to see them in this state.

"Do you still hate them now?" I asked, walking up to her.

"This torture is what they deserve for what they did to this planet. They can go to hell for all I care," Selene coldly stated, walking away from the tube. We then made our way to the door leading to the main laboratory and Nikki took a look at the panel for the door, which was showing a red lock.

"This feels like our first mission on Ares all over again. What is it with scientists and locked doors?" she asked as she tried to open the door.

"I guess you could say that they don't want their 'science' to get out," Zero Two replied. As Nikki continued to work on getting the door open, I suddenly heard the sound of air hissing behind us and looked back. The tubes containing the Bloodhunters were draining of the fluid and the predators within were now wide awake, snapping their jaws and scratching at the glass until they managed to break out, leaving me, Zero Two, Rhea, and Selene to go on the offensive. As the enhanced Bloodhunters got ready to charge us, Rhea used her magic to grab some of the leftover fluid from inside the tubes and turn them into ice-like daggers, which she threw at them. The ice daggers punctured a few of the Bloodhunters' skulls but some of them managed to avoid the attack by climbing onto the wall. Selene used her whip to disorient them before Zero Two electrocuted one with her staff and then blew its head off with one of her pistols. Rhea used her magic to set one of the Bloodhunters on fire before she grabbed a slab of the metal wall with her magic and used it to slice the predator's head off. As for me, the final Bloodhunter bit down on my arm and started to tug violently on it, but I was able to get it off by punching it in the head before I brutally ripped its jaws apart, splitting it in half to the waist and exposed its organs before the monster fell dead to the ground. Blood and guts were all that remained of the Bloodhunters when we were finished.

"Max, none of this is gonna mean a damn thing unless we get that door open," Zero Two said, panting heavily.

"I've almost got it open, but someone should try and flank whoever's in the main control room, just to be safe," Nikki said.

"I'll take the vents and take them by surprise. Max, can you give me a boost?" Selene asked, pointing to a vent opening. I did as she requested and boosted her up into the vents before I heard more sounds coming from behind us. I turned back and saw another group of Bloodhunters trying to get through the door behind us. Just as they were almost through, Nikki finally managed to get the main lab door open. But right as me and Nikki managed to get through, the door immediately closed behind us, locking Rhea and Zero Two out.

"Goddammit, NO!" Nikki yelled, banging on the door.

"Zero Two, are you and Rhea OK?" I said over the comms.

"Yeah, we're fine. Rhea's trying to concentrate on keeping her forcefield up, so she can't talk right now," Zero Two replied.

"Rhonda's team just finished with their task. They're heading up to help you right now," Celeste said over the comms.

"Understood. Over and out," I said. Me and Nikki then took a look around the room to see exactly what was being hidden. But all that was in the room, aside from the equipment, was something on the tables that looked like some kind of stone-like cocoon that had burst open and gave birth to something. But on the inside of the cocoon were a whole bunch of scratch marks like something was trying to get out. But neither me nor Nikki had time to think about it, because the walls behind us began to open up, showing some regular Bloodhunters inside some cages that were starting to wake up. After the walls had completely opened up, the cages began to open and the Bloodhunters eagerly pushed each other aside so they could get to us faster. As they ran toward us baring their teeth, both me and Nikki got our weapons ready and prepared for the worst.

**Selene's perspective**

Given the fact that the scientists were studying the Bloodhunters, I would've thought that the vents would have better security than what I was seeing right now. But, at the moment, I was more concerned with getting to the main control room more than anything. Before too long, I got to the vent that lead to the main control room and silently entered. Standing at the control panel was a male figure who was staring out the window as Max and Nikki were fighting more Bloodhunters. I quietly crept up on the figure and unfurled my whip, but the figure raised his head as if he knew that I was there.

"I figured that you would come through the vents. Misdirection and stealth were always your strongest suits," he said.

"You act like you know everything about me," I replied. But when the figure turned to me, I saw that there was indeed a reason how he knew me. The figure was none other than my brother, Malicus. My own brother was the one running this facility and I had no idea.

"Malicus? What are you doing here?"

"I think the better question is, what are YOU doing here? You actually asked the human and his friends to come and stop me? To stop what the Overlord has asked me to do?"

"What use does he have for the Bloodhunters, Malicus? Don't tell me that he means to use them against innocent people!"

"There WILL be those who will try and resist, sister. The Bloodhunters will only be used as a special army against such people. You may not understand now, but the Overlord will keep his promise and destroy them as soon as his conquest is complete," Malicus said.

"These beasts were already created by accident! Why would the Overlord wish to use abominations that were never supposed to be here in the first place?!"

"That's just the thing, sister. These Bloodhunters weren't created. They were here long before we ever were. They were an ancient species that were once the top predators that dominated this planet until their apparent extinction. The survivors were living deep in caves, trapped in rock-like tombs until the scientists that built this place dug them up and resuscitated them. Such people like that deserve to die…"

"They made a mistake! They never knew what was living beneath us and neither did we! I did agree to help the Overlord so that we could return and destroy the Bloodhunters together, but I never wished to use them to slaughter the innocent! The Overlord has been manipulating us with lies from the beginning!" I said.

"YOU call it 'manipulating'. I call it 'reasoning'. I swore that I would uphold the Overlord's demands without question, and I would never betray him. But you… you have broken your oath, sister."

"And you have taken leave of your senses…" I replied before I grabbed Malicus by the throat with my whip and kicked him in the jugular which knocked him backwards into the console. Malicus angrily unsheathed two knifes from his shins and charged at me, swinging the knifes at me with unrelenting fury. But, being the better hunter and assassin, I was able to dodge each of his attacks and counter each of his thrusts before wrapping my whip around his neck, jumping over him, and delivering a reverse headbutt to the back of his head. Malicus quickly recovered and tried to stab me again, but he hit the console instead and I kicked him in the nose before I tossed him away.

"Do you honestly think that our parents would approve of the treason that you're committing?" my brother asked as he spat out some blood.

"Our parents would not want us to use our enemies against innocent people! And they most certainly would not want us to fight each other like this!" I said as I dodged another knife attack and use my whip to strike Malicus' flesh. But my brother quickly got back up and backhanded me, knocking my mask off of my face.

"They always held you in high esteem. Much more than me, in fact."

"They loved us both equally, brother. They had no favorites among the two of us!" I replied before I lunged at him and bit down on his shoulder, drawing a large amount of blood and making him yell in agony. Malicus angrily knocked me away threw one of his knives at my head, which nearly hit me.

"But it wasn't just our parents that held you in high esteem. The Overlord was also fonder of you! All I ever wanted was for us to be equal!"

"That will never happen with combat, brother…" I replied. Malicus' only response was to grab his knife and charge at me, yelling.

**Nikki's perspective**

"ANOTHER ON YOUR LEFT!" I yelled to Max as I shot another Bloodhunter with my arm cannon. The predators just kept on coming as we fought on and it seemed like there was no end to them. Max continued to slice and dice through the creatures with his arm blade as I kept mowing them down with various weapons. But, even then, they were still too numerous for me to handle and I ended up using a special weapon that I had been saving for an occasion like this: The Iron Spider. Yeah, I know. That's not exactly an original name by the sounds of it, but the results were beyond awesome. Four spider-like arms made of a strong metal, strong enough to rip through flesh and help me out in combat when the odds seemed to be against me. As the Bloodhunters came towards me, the legs stabbed each and every one of them while I used my arm cannons to hold off even more. Max, on the other hand, was having some trouble holding off so many Bloodhunters when he was only armed with his shotgun, his arm blade, and his shoulder launcher. While the grenades were helping clear up most of the predators, his shotgun could only hit so many Bloodhunters at once and he could only use his arm blade at close range. As we were fighting off the Bloodhunters, Selene burst through the window fighting a masculine figure. As she continued to fight, I saw that the figure was Malicus, her brother. Malicus flipped Selene over on to her back and prepared to stab her, but I quickly fired a grappling arm and threw him into the wall.

"You OK?" I asked Selene as I helped her up.

"Worry about that later. We have bigger problems right now!" Selene said before she pushed me out of the way of Malicus' attack, which hit her in the shoulder. Max noticed our distress and tried to grab Malicus with his grappling hook, but the Bloodhunters tackled him to the ground and began to claw at the sides of his face, making him scream in agony as the blood flowed down from his scars. Max tried in vain to get the Bloodhunters off, but he was soon overwhelmed by the predators. I prepared to launch a rocket to try and thin out the pack, but Malicus came in from behind and stabbed me in the leg, which made me fall to the ground and scream in pain. But right as Malicus grabbed my throat and prepared to stab me, the entire room suddenly flashed an intense red and an electrical discharge knocked everyone back, even setting some of the Bloodhunters ablaze. When I got back up, many of the Bloodhunters in the room were burnt to a crisp, but I saw one that was burned on one portion of its body that was starting to stand back up. But by the time that it had sensed me, a hand burst through the creature's chest and then another hand ripped the creature's head off. It was Max. He had once again transformed into his Berserker form with the scars on his face now healed, but he looked even more feral than the other times before and he had lightning violently surrounding his arms. Behind me, both Selene and Malicus emerged from the corpses, completely stunned by the carnage and destruction all around us. Without any warning, Malicus lunged at Max and tackled him to the ground.

"YOU THINK YOURSELF INVINCIBLE?! YOU THINK YOURSELF WORTHY?! THE OVERLORD'S WILL SHALL BE DONE! AND YOU WILL NOT STAND IN THE WAY OF WHAT I WAS PROMISED!" he yelled, grabbing Max by the throat. But Max simply just punched him off, making some of his teeth go flying. As Malicus reeled back from the blow, Max grabbed him by the leg and threw him against the wall and began to savagely punch Malicus in the face and body without even hesitating until Malicus' nose began to bleed, and his body looked badly bruised. Max then threw Malicus away before he began to stalk toward him again menacingly. Malicus took out both of his knifes and tried in vain to stab him to death, but Max stopped him short of doing so and grabbed his other knife before stabbing him through the hand and taking the second knife. As Malicus fell to the ground in pain, Max came in from behind and slashed both of his cheeks, creating two gashes. Malicus just fell to the ground, his energy depleted, and his body horribly battered from the assault, but Max wasn't completely done yet, as he picked Malicus up by his hair and prepared to slit his throat, only for Selene to use her whip to grab his arm and wrench the knife out of his hand.

"That's enough, Max! He has been beaten!" Selene yelled as she tried to stop her brother's wounds from bleeding. But Max pushed Selene away and picked up Malicus by his throat, preparing to kill him.

"MAX, STOP!" I yelled, trying to get him to come back to his senses. But it didn't work, and Max began to tighten his grip on Malicus, making him choke. Selene recovered quickly and wrapped her whip around Max's neck before throwing him into the floor. But that wasn't enough to keep Max down and he was back on his feet in no time. He stood over both Selene and Malicus, glaring menacingly at them.

"Please… he doesn't deserve this!" Selene begged as she held Malicus in her arms.

"Max, please! I know that you're still in there! Don't let your anger control you! You need to fight it!" I said, trying to reason with him. Max looked back at me questionably, looking like he was about to snap out of it. But, instead, he turned back to the siblings and drew his arm blade, ready to strike the two of them down. I knew that I had to act fast and think of something. But when Max lifted his arm blade and began to swing it, I immediately shot him with my arm cannon. Bad idea. Max angrily looked back at me, his eyes burning with rage. He swiftly grabbed his shotgun and pointed it at me, firing the grappling hook. But I quickly dodged the hooks path before grabbing it and yanking Max towards me, knocking him down with a clothesline power move. I knew that there was no going back now. It was either fight Max and try to get him to stop or we all die. Max got back onto his feet and stared me down with a menacing glare.

"OK… if you're not going to listen… then I'll fight it out of you!" I yelled before I created a plasma cannon and shot Max directly in the chest, which launched him backwards into the wall, where several pieces of debris fell to the ground around him. When he got back up, he picked up some of the debris and threw it at me, but I was able to jump from one to the other until I sliced the final piece in half with my sword and kicked him in the stomach. As to be expected, he barely even flinched, and he grabbed me by the leg and threw me into the floor before stabbing me in the shoulder. It hurt like hell, but I wasn't about to give up just yet. Using the Iron Spider Legs, I was able to get Max off my back and counter each of his attacks until I used the bottom two legs to uppercut him away from me. I then activated my superspeed boots and proceeded to relentlessly attack him until he was practically trying to shield himself. But right as I was about to hit him again, he grabbed me by the neck and threw me into the ceiling. I was able to catch myself, using the Iron Spider Legs to attach myself to the ceiling, but Max jumped up to try and catch me, punching a hole in the ceiling. The battle was practically going nowhere as every attack I threw at Max barely even bruised him and I was too fast and cautious for him to even land a fatal blow on me. I started to plant small bombs in the ceiling, hoping that whatever was above us would be heavy enough to incapacitate Max, but that was completely nuts because he was trying to hit me as I moved in a wide circle around the ceiling. Right after I had placed the final bomb on the ceiling, I turned around and knocked Max back to the floor and detonated the bombs. Much to my luck, a whole bunch of heavy-looking equipment fell from the ceiling and seemingly crushed Max, creating a dust cloud that filled the entire room. I immediately ran back to Selene, who was still trying to stop Malicus' bleeding, and created an ice beam shooter, which I used to freeze Malicus' scars which thankfully stopped the bleeding. But, behind me, I heard the sound of cracking and rocks being moved. I looked back and saw Max, still in his Berserker form, making his way out of the rubble and climbing up to us. But, when he was almost five feet away from us, he suddenly collapsed and returned to his normal self, just as Celeste and the others had entered the room.

**Max's perspective**

I have absolutely no idea what happened back at the facility, but whatever it was that happened, I was out cold. When I came to, I was lying in the med bay bed with Nikki, Hiro, Zero Two, and Selene surrounding the bed. As I began to stir, Nikki noticed and put her hand on my shoulder.

"Hey," she said.

"What the hell happened?" I asked before I winced from the pain in my head.

"Well, as Nikki tells us, she kicked your ass," Zero Two replied with a smile.

"Oh God… did I have another episode?"

"You did. And the only way that Nikki could get you to stop was to drop almost a few tons of rock on top of you, which apparently was also enough to wipe a bit of your short-term memory," Celeste said, entering the room. As I sat up, I noticed that Nikki had a bandage over her shoulder and her upper leg.

"What happened to you?" I asked, pointing at the bandage.

"Oh, nothing. Just some flesh wounds," Nikki replied.

"So… what happened to Malicus?"

"He's in the brig. But Celeste had to stitch up the gashes that you left on his face," Selene replied.

"And… um… he was NOT the least bit happy about you doing that," Hiro said. I cringed at that statement.

"BUT… Celeste says that Selene's proven herself worthy to be on the team! Isn't that great?" Zero Two asked. I just nodded without smiling as I held my head in pain.

"Could you guys give us a minute?" Nikki asked. Celeste nodded and everyone else left the two of us alone. Without any warning, Nikki punched me in the arm.

"Ow," I said before I started to get up.

"What happened back there? You didn't even try to fight your rage! You just ran with it and almost killed both me and Selene!"

"I don't know. It was just so… enticing. Like I was unstoppable, and nothing could get in my way."

"What about the last few times? You said that it felt evil before!" Nikki yelled as I got dressed.

"Look… All that I know is that something in my mind is telling me to just run wild, but it's also telling me to slow down. My mind just feels so… divided," I replied. Nikki just gave me a sad look before calmly taking my hand.

"What happened back there… It reminded me of the last big argument that we had."

"I didn't hurt you back then."

"That's true, but it still felt so horrible. We both said and did things we didn't mean… the whole hour of silence that happened afterward… that was the loneliest that we had ever been," Nikki said, hugging my arm. I just put my arms around her gently and held her for about two minutes until she felt that we had hugged for long enough.

"I know that things are not in the greatest of conditions right now, but nothing is going to get better until we defeat the Overlord and put a stop to this whole thing. That's all that I know for sure right now," I said.

"I'm just afraid for you is all, Max. I worry because I love you."

"Look, we should get some rest. We can worry about this tomorrow. I'll stay here for tonight and try to sort this out and we'll discuss what we do next, OK?"

"OK," Nikki replied as she started to walk out of the room.

"Y'know, technically speaking, you actually won the last fight before this one," I joked. Nikki just gave a slight chuckle before she left.

**Malicus' perspective**

Agony. That's all I've ever known since the day my sister and I lost our parents. And I was now feeling it again. But it wasn't just in my head. It was also along the sides of my cheeks from the sutured wounds that I now had. I could still taste the metallic taste of my blood in my mouth as I laid on the floor of my cell. But a faint buzzing sound awoke me from my slumber, and I took out a small holographic disc from my pants before I answered it, a hologram of the Overlord appearing.

"My lord…" I said.

"Malicus… what is your status?" the Overlord asked.

"…I'm sorry, my lord. They've left the facility in ruins. There is nothing left."

"And they have captured you…"

"My lord… All is not lost. This is just a minor setback."

"I am sorely disappointed in you, Malicus. You allowed your judgement to compromise your thinking. And that has cost us the means to supply an army large enough to surpass every other military might in this universe. We are losing more of our allies than we are gaining them."

"This failure rest upon my shoulders, my lord…" I said.

"Yes, it does. And now, you must pay for it. Perhaps your time will be better spent living in that cell. For the rest of your pathetic life," the Overlord said before the hologram disappeared. I was completely distraught by what I just heard. But, as I sat there in silence, someone from behind snatched the disc from my hand. It was Selene, who dropped the disc on the floor and crushed it beneath her foot.

"Now you see it. He does not care for either of us. We were just his pawns for his own sick game," she said. But I just turned away from her, disgusted.

"This is all your fault. Because of you, I'm now condemned to die alongside the worthless lot of you. Don't ever speak to me as your brother again," I replied. Selene just gave me a sad look and reactivated my cell door again.

"It's because you're my brother that you aren't dead. I will always love you, no matter what you say or do, Malicus. It will never change," she replied before she left me.

**Max's perspective**

I think that I heard somewhere that taking a cold shower helps with reducing stress. At least, I thought that was the case. But, as I was taking said cold shower, my body felt like it was warming up a bit. Even after I had cranked the cold water up, I still felt like my body was burning. After I had finished up, I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my head and collapsed in front of the sink. As I was getting up, I noticed that the blood vessels in my arms and hands were poking out again and were pitch black. I scrambled up to the mirror to see my reflection and saw that the blood vessels in my face were the same as my arms and my eyes were now red, much to my horror. But, after I was hit with another wave of searing pain in my forehead, I looked back up and saw that my face was perfectly fine, and it looked like nothing had happened. But I couldn't help but feel a sense of dread that something was going to lead to something that would change everything.

And I felt that this was preluding the start of something horrible.

**To Be Continued…**


	15. Chapter 15: Inner Demons

HuniePop Space Adventures

Chapter 15: Inner Demons

I don't know exactly what it was that happened. All that I did know was that I was buried underneath a bunch of rubble and I was trying to dig my way out. My armor was badly damaged, and I was unable to reach the rest of the team.

"Anyone? Respond! What's going on out there?!" I said into my comms. No answer. But, as I finally managed to get out of the rubble, I soon discovered the reason why. At first, I had absolutely no idea where I was. The sky was a blood red with matching color lightning flashing throughout the clouds and the land was littered with debris everywhere. But, as I took a step forward, I stepped on a piece of metal that looked oddly familiar: a red octagon with the word 'STOP' on it. I picked up the sign and took a step back before I noticed the pile of rubble that I had crawled out of was a demolished house. It soon dawned on me that this was Earth, but I didn't understand how any of this happened. We were still in the middle of fighting the Overlord, so how did he manage to take over Earth without the Infernite energy? I honestly had no idea. But as I vaulted over some of the debris and landed on a street of some kind, the answer came to me in the most horrific way possible. Laying on the ground in front of me were the bodies of my teammates and a few of my enemies, all either dead or dying. Amki had a long pipe impaled through her chest and was making gurgling noises until she finally dropped to the ground, dead. Celeste had been decapitated with her own katanas, her blue blood still flowing out from the base of her neck. Odango had been torn apart, sparks flying out of her arms. Eva's face was missing some skin on one side and both of her arms looked like they were cut off. Rhea's staff had been broken in half and she had been stabbed with a bunch of ice spikes. Both Hiro and Zero Two had both been stabbed through their chests with a rebar, Hiro's arms wrapped around his lover in one final hug. Rhonda had several holes in her chest, no doubt having been shot several times. Eila had electric burns all over her body with Goo (or whatever was left of her) lying next to her. Ayano was pinned through her head with a knife against a wall. Selene was hanging from a scaffolding by her whip, which apparently had broken her neck. Malicus' head was spilt horizontally through his mouth, the upper half not that far from the rest of him. Philip had his entire back torn open with his spine and skull ripped out. Zekxsie was burned with her arms and legs torn off. And finally, lying right in front of my feet, was Nikki, who had no visible wounds on her body. I immediately knelt down and tried to see if she had a pulse, but when I put my fingers on her neck, she jumpscared me when she grabbed my arm suddenly.

"Max… what… happened to you? Why didn't you… save… us?" she asked before her head fell limp and blood started to drip from her nose. The tears came to my eyes as I cradled her in my arms, trying to get her to wake her up. But, as I was still cradling her, I felt a very evil presence standing behind me. I barely had time to turn around all the way around before someone grabbed by the throat and held me up. I thought at first it was the Overlord, but when I opened my eyes, what I saw had me both surprised and horrified. It was ME. But it wasn't just me, it was me in my Berserker form, except my armor was jet black and the arm blade was now blood red. My alternate self just stared at me menacingly until he drew his arm blade and pointed it threateningly at my chest. I looked at my alternate self with pleading eyes, but he was unmoved, and he violently stabbed me through my heart, making me scream in pain until I woke up in my bed in the med bay. I was completely drenched in sweat and, despite the lights being off and everything being completely dark, I could see that the blood vessels in my arm were black and my skin was looking pale. As I was inspecting myself, the med bay door opened, and I saw Celeste standing in the doorway, blinding me a bit with the light.

"Max, what's wrong? I heard you scream," she said. I immediately fell off of the bed and went straight for the darkness on one side of the room, curling up to try and prevent Celeste from seeing me.

"Stay back. Don't come any closer," I warned.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Just… stay away…" I replied. Celeste's only response was to head over to one of the medical monitors and deploy a small drone, which briefly scanned me and then brought the results back to the monitor. Celeste looked over the results and then looked back at me in a terrified manner.

"Max… these readings… what is going on with you?" she asked.

"I honestly don't know… everything hurts…"

"Is there anything that I can do?"

"Just… stay away. Tell Nikki and the others not to come in here for now. Find someone who can help," I said. Celeste gave me a nod and left the room, leaving me alone in my pain and torment.

**Celeste's perspective, the next morning**

"Do you know why I've called you all to this meeting this morning?" I asked. Everyone was seated at the meeting table that I had in the cafeteria.

"There had better be a good reason why you woke us up at 0700 hours, Celeste. I was hoping to get at least three more hours of sleep," Amki said.

"What's 0700 hours?" Zero Two asked.

"7 in the morning," Nikki replied.

"ANYWAY… it's about Max. He's… not looking well," I said, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

"What makes you say that?" Eva asked. My only response was to show an old vital chart of Max when we first started our battle against the Overlord.

"These were Max's vitals when he first became infected with the Infernite energy. And these… are his vitals now," I said before I pulled up a vital chart that showed a large amount of red tumor-like masses around Max's heart, lungs and enlarged blood vessels running down his arms and legs. Everyone looked visibly frightened at seeing those charts, especially Nikki, who held her face in sadness and shock.

"Holy shit…" she said.

"How exactly is this affectin' him?" Rhonda asked.

"He's been having nightmares every 2 hours. The most recent was at 0500 hours this morning. His body has also been looking similar to his Berserker form, only his eyes aren't the same and he seems to be in control… for now," I replied.

"It's the energy. It's corrupting him," Rhea said.

"Explain."

"The energy mostly feeds off of the negative emotions of the carrier and amplifies them to the point where the carrier loses control of their actions or is brought out by near death situations to defend the host. But Max is different because he is continually repressing these emotions, which means that the energy is trying to, in a sense, fight for control of his body. And, unfortunately, his repressed emotions are starting to cause him to lose control."

"So… how can we cure him?" Nikki asked. Rhea's only response was to look away from her in sadness.

"I'm afraid that there isn't very much that we can do to help him, Nikki," she said.

"Don't you dare say that! Look, this is my boyfriend that we're talking about, we have to do something!" Nikki responded, crying.

"Why don't we just steal the Crucible and use it to get that stuff out of him?" Amki asked.

"Attempting to get the Crucible would prove to be a complete challenge. There's also the fact that if we do manage to get the Crucible and successfully extract the energy, we'd be handing the Overlord exactly what he wants," Selene explained.

"So, then what do we do?! There has to be something we can do to help!" Nikki yelled, becoming hysterical.

"I'm sorry, Nikki. The only possible way for him to regain control is for him to come to terms with his past and his failures. But, I'm afraid that there's no possible way for us to do that here," Rhea said. Everyone looked downhearted at that statement and Nikki put her head on the table in sadness as she cried. But, amidst the silence, I immediately remembered something.

"Maybe there is a way. Are any of you familiar with the wars between Tendricide and Prometheus?" I asked, drawing confused and disturbed looks from everyone.

"Celeste, what the hell does your past civil war have to do with Max?" Amki asked.

"When the war ended, a large number of surviving soldiers began suffering nightmares due the horrors that they witnessed. The brutality of it, good men and women dying alongside them, the rebels that they gunned down… But, amidst that crisis, one of my friends had found some kind of pools deep in the caverns that allowed those who submerged themselves to enter their mind, so to say, and revisit certain memories. My friend suggested that we let the soldiers lay in the pool to try and help them, and a few hours later, they went on to live their lives, much more content with the past than they did before."

"You're serious? Your planet has a thing that's practically similar to REM sleep?" Odango asked.

"It's one of the many things that aren't known about my planet. Now, Rhea, if we were to take Max there and have him face his past, would that cure him?" I asked.

"I don't think that it would completely disperse the energy, but I believe that it will push it far back enough that Max will start behaving normally and he'll look normal again. So, yes, that sounds like a very feasible plan," Rhea replied.

"Wait, hold up, are we SURE that this is going to work? Have there been any soldiers that DIDN'T make it through that treatment?" Amki objected.

"Not that I know of. But, either way, we have to try and help him however we can. Does anyone have any objections to this idea?" I asked.

"I think that, at this point, it's the only option that we have left. I support this idea," Eva said, raising her hand. Rhonda, Nikki, Eila, Goo, Odango, Hiro, and Zero Two also raised their hands in agreement, leaving Amki as the only one who didn't have her hand raised, although she did raise her hand after a while.

"Look, it's not that I don't think this is going to work. I just don't have a lot of faith in magic and all that," she said.

"Any other questions?... Dismissed," I said before we all left the table and went to go get ready to leave for my home planet. But, as I was heading for the cockpit, I was stopped by Zero Two and Hiro, who were following behind me.

"So, this 'mystical pool of dreams'… do you really think that it will help Max?" Hiro asked.

"I have faith that it will. I've seen many of the soldiers from my home make a steady recovery after they went into those pools."

"Well, that's good news. Sooooo, on an unrelated topic, do you think that me and Darling could have our wedding on your planet?" Zero Two asked. I just gave her a confused look, but Hiro immediately looked upset at the mention of the subject.

"Ah geez, Zero Two! Can we PLEASE not discuss this now?!" Hiro asked.

"Why not? We need somewhere to have a wedding, don't we? Might as well do it when nothing is really happening."

"OK, that's true, but I still think that this is poorly timed, especially with what's going on!"

"Actually, Hiro, that doesn't sound like a bad idea," I said.

"Wait, what?" Hiro replied.

"It could actually serve as a way to keep unwanted attention off our backs until Max recovers. And besides, I know that you both have been very patient up until now, so we can arrange a wedding," I said. Zero Two gave a beaming smile towards Hiro, who just gave an awkward smile back.

"Then, I guess we're finally having a wedding," he said. Zero Two couldn't help but embrace him with a huge smile on her face as I just looked on, smiling as well.

**Philip's perspective, the Overlord's ship**

Y'know what the worst part about this whole trip was? I was always the one who got my ass handed to me. One minute, I was pretty much kicking everyone against the wall back at the prison, and the next, that pink-haired bitch was trying to kill me. I woke up inside the ship's med bay with some red-haired girl looking over me. But as I watched her walk around my bed, I noticed that her hands were covered in some kind of reddish crap and the sclera of her eyes were black.

"Well, well. Look who's decided to join the land of the living," she said, walking over to me with a smile. I just stared back at her with a confused look before I noticed a small mirror on the table next to me.

"That mirror… give it to me," I demanded, pointing to it. The girl was a bit surprised by the sudden demand, but she just gave me a smirk and granted my request, handing me the mirror. I felt a bit uneasy by her eagerness to give me the mirror, but when I looked into it, there was nothing wrong with my face except for the scar I had gotten earlier.

"You should consider yourself lucky. When the Overlord brought you to me, your face looked HORRENDUS! The good news is that you healed rather nicely. If you hadn't, I would've had to stitch you back together with some patches of your skin replaced."

"And who the hell are you?"

"Ah, yes, we've never met before. My name is Info-chan, but you may call me Info if you wish. I've been working with the Overlord just the same as you've been, only a bit longer."

"And where exactly is the man of the hour now?" I asked. As if on cue, the door to the med bay opened and the Overlord walked in, his red eyes glowing intensely.

"I'm glad to see that you are awake, Philip. How do you feel?" he asked rather unusually.

"Pissed off and ready for Round 2. Where are they?" I asked. Both the Overlord and Info just exchanged looks at each other before looking back at me.

"I'm afraid that they have fallen off our radar and we still trying to find them. To make matters worse, Selene has joined forces with them and Malicus is their prisoner, so we are very short-handed right now," Info said.

"And even if we did know, you are in no condition to fight at this moment," the Overlord added.

"Watch me," I replied, positioning myself to get off the bed. But, the second that I tried to stand up, there was an extreme amount of pain that hit me almost instantly and my legs gave out on me, making me land on my face. After Info had gotten me back on the bed, she pulled up an X-ray of my legs, which were broken AF.

"Both of your lower leg bones were fractured back at the prison. It will take about a few hours for this ray here to fully heal your legs, but until then, you should stay in bed and not move too much," Info said, placing her hand on some kind of gun on the ceiling that was emitting some kind of light blue beam. I just gave a grunt of pain as I grabbed my legs and Info pointed the gun at me and activated it.

"Be thankful that you are still alive. It could have fared much worse for you," the Overlord said before he left, leaving both me and Info in the room together.

"So, how long was I out?" I asked as Info sat beside me.

"A few days, give or take," she replied.

"Where are Yoon and Zekxsie?"

"Yoon is on the bridge, trying to locate where Max and the others are. Zekxsie is on a mission for the Overlord, but he won't tell me exactly what she's doing. Other than that, you and I are the only ones in here right now."

"And Selene and Malicus have both joined the rebellion?"

"Rebellion is a strong word to describe it, Philip."

"At this point, I really don't think there's a better word for it. But, trust me, when I'm healed, I'm gonna be the one that brings it down," I replied as I drifted off to sleep again.

**Nikki's perspective, the Centurion**

The silence of the hallway felt like I was inside a void of some kind. All alone. Like I used to be before I met Max for the first time at Nutmeg Café, where we worked. When I was with him, I felt whole. I was so distraught that I didn't notice that Celeste was trying to get my attention.

"NICOLE! Are you listening?" she yelled. I immediately snapped to attention and looked up at her.

"Sorry, I was… somewhere else. What's up?" I said.

"We are on final approach to Tendricide. It's time…" Celeste replied, handing me a small syringe filled with some kind of light blue liquid. But I just stared at it in sadness and fiddled with a bit.

"I really don't think that we should do this."

"This drug will just make him dazed and confused until we get him to the pools. It won't harm him. But we can't take the risk that he might go berserk if we try to move him."

"I… just… it's just that…"

"Nikki, I know that you are afraid, but this has to be done in order to save him. We mustn't waste any precious time to try and heal him," Celeste said. I nodded and got up before heading straight for the med bay. When I entered, I saw Max standing at the window, his back towards the door, looking completely creepy in the shade. But, after I had gotten through the door, it became clear that he knew that I was behind him.

"Nikki?" he said, turning his head slightly.

"Yeah, it's me," I said, trying to hide my fear.

"You're afraid, aren't you?"

"You're scaring pretty much everyone, Max. We're all worried about you."

"I guess that's on me. If I had just said no back when Celeste asked us to come with her, maybe we wouldn't be here."

"Max, that wasn't your fault. None of us knew that this would happen."

"You haven't seen how it ends in my nightmares. I'm the death of Earth. The death of everything. The monster that destroys and kills until there's nothing left."

"You are NOT a monster!"

"How can you say that when you're not even looking at me?" Max said before he turned to face me, showing me a horrifying sight. Just as Celeste had said, Max's skin was pale with numerous black blood vessels visible and his eyes were red despite his sclera being normal and his hair not being white.

"My God, Max. What on Earth is going on with you?!" I asked in a terrified manner. Max just inched toward me, unusually calm.

"I've been trying my hardest to hold back my rage. But, the energy… it just… brings it out of me. I can't control it," he replied. I began to move back as Max kept walking forward, but in no time at all, he had me cornered against the wall.

"Max, baby, you're scaring me! Please stop this!" I pleaded. Max just ignored me and grabbed the hand that had the syringe. I thought at first that he was going to crush it, but instead, surprisingly, he helped me point it at his neck and stuck it inside his skin.

"It's OK. I understand that you need to do this. But you need to do it now before I lose control again," Max said with a slight smile. A tear slid down my face as I quickly injected the liquid into his bloodstream. After a few seconds, Max began to stagger a bit and then fell into my arms before he fell unconscious. The hard part was over. Now all we had to do was get him to the pools. By the time we had gotten him to the cargo bay, we had already arrived on Tendricide. This was the first time that I had ever seen Celeste's home planet and I had to say, it looked gorgeous. We had landed close to the city, where there were a wide variety of buildings from skyscrapers to condos which were covered in ice even though the structures looked like they were made of metal. The ground was covered with crystalline structures and several different flowers and the skies were filled with clouds that were raining snowflakes all over the city. Even though the winds were bitterly cold, Celeste had already given us all warm suits to keep us from freezing. Well, Amki was the only one who DIDN'T have a warm suit and despite her tough attitude and nature, she was shaking extremely hard in the cold while she was holding Max.

"Y'know, you didn't tell me that there was a freakin' BLIZZARD going on right now, Celeste!" she said, shivering.

"I'm sorry, Amki. The weather can be unpredictable sometimes," Celeste replied.

"Oh, no, that's fine! I'll just freeze my ass off over here!"

"Oh my gosh…" I said before I took off the device that created my heat suit and gave it to Amki. Although it was cold, I was able to replicate the tech so I could create one of my own without getting frostbite almost instantly. After that whole thing was sorted out, we made our way to a dome-like structure and walked in. The tunnel we walked into was lined with a whole bunch of lights that lead us all down to a round, open cave where a mysterious robed figure was kneeling down in front of some weird skinned chicken or something like that, chanting in Celeste's language before she took out a knife. But right as she reached the climax of her incantation and she was about to stab the chicken, Celeste spoke up.

"Calypso…" she said. The figure whirled around, yelling, revealing a Tendricite whole looked almost exactly like Celeste, except her eyes were a lime-green and her forehead was adorned with multicolored gems that were arranged in a snowflake pattern.

"WHAT?! What do you want, Celeste?! Now I have to start the whole ritual over again!" Calypso said.

"Those rituals are dead. You should know that."

"The rituals keep me in touch with my ancestors if I ever need advice or counsel."

"And how has that been going lately?"

"You mean like how it is with your technology and your advancements in science? When everyone can sometimes benefit from a simpler lifestyle?" Calypso asked before she looked back at the rest of us. Zero Two gave a simple wave as if to say hello.

"In any case, I need your help," Celeste said. Calypso just pointed at us like she was accusing us of something.

"Does it involve them?"

"No. It involves HIM," Celeste said. Amki brought Max forward and presented him to Calypso. The mage walked over to him and closely studied Max, examining his eyes and his skin before she stood up, her eyes filled with fear.

"I cannot help him," Calypso said, walking away from us. My heart immediately sank at that statement, but Celeste wasn't OK with that conclusion.

"Yes, you can. Don't you remember after the war against Prometheus? When those soldiers were begging for anyone who could help them?"

"That was different. They were just suffering from the horrors of that war. What HE has is like nothing I've ever seen, which means it may not be treatable!"

"Calypso, he is my friend! And I will not let him- "

"Calypso… I understand that you are afraid. I'm afraid too. But Celeste came to you because she trusts you. Because you have dealt with similar problems like this and you have saved countless innocent lives from certain death. It's true that the circumstances may be different, but we have faith that you are able to help him. To help us. Please," Rhea said. Calypso just pondered over Rhea's speech for a minute before she looked back at us and gave a slight nod.

"Follow me," she said, walking over to a wall and pressing a hidden panel which opened up a hidden door. That door lead to a room where there were six pools of water arranged in a circular pattern, an oxygen machine in front of each one. But I saw that the water in the pools looked very opalescent. High above us were a bunch of crystals, all different colors, that were lighting up the room along the ceiling of the cavern.

"Pretty," Zero Two said, staring up at the ceiling in wonder.

"Gooooo," Goo agreed. While they were awe struck at the beauty of this place, Amki and Calypso helped position Max on the surface of one of the pools and attached an oxygen mask to his face.

"What're the masks for? I thought that you hated technology," Rhonda said.

"Some technologies have their uses. Plus, if we were to leave your friend submerged for too long, he would drown. Trust me when I say that this is for his own safety," Calypso replied.

"What exactly is the water made of?" Hiro asked as he began to reach for the water. But before he could dip even a finger in, Calypso grabbed his hand and pulled him back.

"DO NOT touch the water. If you touch the water without being submerged, it will send immediate reactions to your brain and possibly bring back an old memory that you may have been trying to forget. It tends to be painful," she warned. Right as she was about to put Max under the water, he stirred a bit and opened his eyes. His eyes were still red, but he looked like he was still in control.

"How long will the procedure take?" I asked.

"The results may vary. One soldier was under for a whole day before he came back to reality," Celeste replied. I just put my hands on the sides of Max's face and tenderly kissed his forehead before looking into his eyes.

"Be careful. And come back to me, OK?" I said. Max just put his hand on mine and gave a slight smile.

"You need to listen now. When you are inside of your mind, you may become a bit disorientated. You must find what it is that plagues your mind and either destroy it or make peace with it. But under NO circumstances must you allow yourself to fall victim to the horrors of your mind. If you die within your illusion, you will also die in reality. Remember that," Calypso said. Max just nodded his head in approval and Calypso pushed him down under the water and Max closed his eyes again as the waters began to glow.

"Please notify us if anything happens," Celeste said before we all left the caverns and made our way back to the city.

**Max's perspective, the Dream Realm**

It felt like I was floating in potentially nothing. I could clearly see myself with my Praetor armor on, but everything else around me was just blackness. After about 5 minutes of floating, my feet finally found solid ground on which I could stand on. But, all around me, there was practically nothing. As I looked around, a bright light suddenly shined right into my face before it died down and it sat in the middle of the sky like a beacon. I felt that the light was trying to guide me out of this place, so I began to make my way toward it, but when I took a few steps forward, I fell into a body of water or something. After I had gotten back to the surface, the light shined on the other side of the water, directing me where to go. I immediately began to swim to the other side to try and escape whatever this was, but it became apparent that I was not alone in the water. As I was slowly swimming through the water, something grabbed my chest plate and reared its ugly head at me. What grabbed me looked like some kind of decayed human-like creature, but its body was semi-transparent, and its lower body was like that of a ghost. The creature roared at me and tried to claw at my face, but I was able to punch it off of me. But, as it went back to the depths, I saw that there was WAY more than one in the water with me. This body of water wasn't just a simple lake. It was a river of souls, much like the River Styx of mythology. But right now, I wasn't worried about why this was inside my own head. I was more concerned with getting to the other side as the souls began to attack me, a few of them taking pieces of my armor off as I fought them off. By the time I had reached the banks, the souls had taken all of my armor, leaving me with only normal clothes and absolutely no way to defend myself. After the souls had retreated back into the river, I took a good look at my surroundings. The landscape was barely lit, but from what I could make out, it looked like the land was covered in jagged rocks, most of them volcanic-looking and they were all devoid of any flowers, trees, or grass. The skies periodically were lit by the lightning that was moving throughout the clouds. There were absolutely no signs of life from the land and the screams from the souls of the river made a sound so horrible that I covered my ears to try and drown it out. But when I turned away from the river, I noticed a structure that seemed a bit different from the entire landscape: a house. It looked like a completely normal two-story house with a nice little flower bed at the front along the sidewalk. As I walked closer, I suddenly realized that this wasn't just some random house. It was a house that I used to live in. It was the house that my parents and I lived in from my childhood until I left for Glenberry. It was always a place that I had cherished memories from, especially those of my parents. My dad was a businessman with a taste for country and classic music, and he was always there to help me with whatever problems that I had. My mom was a florist with a tender heart full of compassion, who was sweeter than honey and was always close when I felt sad. Both of my parents were the best kind of role models that I could ever ask for and was always grateful for them being there for me. When I entered the house, the outside suddenly looked bright and sunny, and I noticed that my parents were both in the kitchen. Or, at least, there were illusions when I tried to reach for Mom. Suddenly, I heard the sound of the door opening and closing behind me and looked back to see a chubby little boy with a hoodie and a backpack panting before he ran upstairs. Both of my parents both looked concerned at what they just saw.

"Max? Sweetie? What's wrong?" Mom asked.

"It's OK, Diana. I'll talk with him," Dad said before he also went upstairs. And then it hit me. This was a day when I was being chased down by a group of bullies while I was in fifth grade. I wasn't always lean and fit as I was right now. I was once a small, chubby, socially awkward boy who didn't always fit in. And that apparently gave a group of bullies in school an excuse to pick on me because of that. I went up the stairs and saw my dad knocking on the door to my room, where my younger self was curled up in bed, crying.

"Hey, buddy. What's wrong? Where those bullies bothering you again?" Dad asked, sitting on my bed.

"Yes. I tried to be strong but…" my younger self said as he sat up and wiped the tears from his face.

"Max, I know that you're trying to be strong, but it never hurts to ask for help."

"They said that they would hurt me if I told on them…"

"Oh, they're just saying that because they're afraid to get in trouble. Look, let me give some advice: Sometimes the best way to win a fight is not to start one, but if you come up against somebody you know you can't beat, be smart. It's okay to run the other way. And, if you can, try to find an adult that you know to help you. Don't let your fears hold you back from doing the right thing," Dad said as he drew my younger self in and hugged him.

"But… what if they keep bothering me after that? What if they keep bullying me?" my younger self asked.

"That's what me and your mom are here for, buddy. No matter what happens, we'll always be here to help you out. But you need to tell us if you're being bullied, OK?"

"OK…"

"Now, how about we go downstairs and have dinner and we'll talk about this with Mom, OK?" Dad asked. My younger self just nodded and the two headed downstairs before I found myself back in the hellscape outside. I had no idea exactly what that was all about, seeing as that had very little to do with the dilemma that we were facing. Running from the Overlord was all that we had been doing recently but I knew that we would have face him eventually. And the whole reason that I was here was because the Infernite energy was trying to take hold of me. But the answer hit as fast as the question arose: Bravery and teamwork. My dad taught me to be brave against the odds. That, no matter what, relying on others to help me was always the best way to face a dangerous situation. Celeste, Nikki, and the others were the best kind of team that I could've asked for. That was the lesson that my memories were trying to teach me. As I was thinking about the subject, I heard the sound of the earth rumbling behind me and turned to see a small path being made across a chasm while the same light I saw from the river lowered down and settled on a spot on the horizon. I knew that what was going on was only starting, and as I made my way towards where the light was, I figured that there was even more that I would learn about myself, as well as what I would discover within this realm.

**Zero Two's perspective**

"Nope. Nope. Definitely nope," I said as I went through dresses. Me, Nikki, and Celeste were in a dressing room, trying to pick out the best dress for my wedding. The only problem was that none of the dresses that Celeste and Nikki picked out were that appealing to me.

"You need to pick SOMETHING, Zero Two," Nikki said as I tried on outfit number ten.

"It's her wedding, Nikki. Choosing a dress for the wedding isn't always the easiest choice for a bride to make.," Celeste replied as she helped me with the dress.

"It's OK, Celeste. Besides, it's pretty obvious that she's worried about something else," I said. Sure enough, Nikki was staring out the window again at the caverns where Max was being held. It had already been two hours since he had gone under, but Max was apparently the only thing that Nikki could think about.

"Nikki, he'll be fine. He's in good hands."

"I know that but… it's been two hours already! I just can't stop worrying about him!" Nikki replied, not taking her eyes off the entrance to the caverns.

"I mean, I don't blame you. If Darling were in that situation, I would be completely freaked out and climbing up the wall," I said as I inspected the dress that I was currently wearing. Celeste took the opportunity to sit beside Nikki and put her hand on her shoulder.

"Nikki, I'm also afraid for him. But we need to have faith that he is up to the challenge and that he'll get through this. For now, just relax," she said. Nikki just nodded as I tried on a necklace. The necklace looked like it was made of silver with the symbol of a bird with its wings outstretched in the middle of the chains.

"Hey, I've been meaning to ask. What's with the bird symbol on some of the jewelry? Is that like the planet's bird or something?" I asked.

"In a sense. That bird is one of our past. We call it the 'Cryoavis'," Celeste replied.

"What do you mean 'of your past'?" Nikki asked. Celeste just looked out the window and stared out at the rest of the city.

"Many, many years ago, during the medieval days of Tendricide, there was a coup against the whole of our people. Two factions became embroiled in a civil war that nearly destroyed several lives. Yet, during that time, love still found its way into the hearts of those who were trying to stay out of the war. There was a warrior prince and a noble princess who fell in love when they first met. But they were from opposing factions and their parents forbade them from seeing each other. But, as the war got worse, both the prince and the princess no longer wanted to be a part of a nation that was tearing itself apart, and they made plans to run away together. On the day that they would flee, the princess found a tiny little hatchling in one of the ice gardens. Alone. Half dead. She felt pity for it, and she took it with her and the prince to the mountains, where they would be safe. As time went on, the hatchling grew rapidly, and it occasionally brought back food and resources for the lovers. But, when the factions found out that their children had run away, they sent out a search party for the two, and their search took them into the mountains. But, by the time the lovers were found, the hatchling had grown into an adult with a wingspan of 52 feet, the largest any of the bird's species had ever grown. That day, the prince and the princess helped both factions resolve their differences and the nation began to heal with everyone working together. When the prince and the princess had their wedding, the Cryoavis came to the wedding and left one of its tail feathers as a beautiful reminder of the occasion. And it has appeared at every wedding here ever since. Not just as a sign of trust, but also to remind us of the promises that we made."

"…That's… really romantic," Nikki finally said.

"Do you think that the bird will show up at our wedding?" I asked.

"It's very possible. Even with some of the different species that have come here to have a wedding, the Cryoavis has shown up for every single one," Celeste replied as I took one final look at the dress that I was wearing. It was a simple dress with a fluffy skirt that looked positively wonderful.

"Well, I think we have a winner here. What do you think?" I asked. Nikki just smiled and turned me around to get a full view of my dress.

"I think he'll love it. And we could pair that with your flower crown for the headdress," she said.

"Sounds great! Looks like we're ready!"

"Not so fast, Zero Two. We may have handled the dress part of the wedding, but there's still a lot more preparation to do," Celeste said.

**Max's perspective, The Dream Realm**

It felt like 2 hours had passed as I was walking throughout the nightmarish landscape. Of course, that was because it looked like the land was switching up on me every few seconds and the cliffs and streams and every other formation were messing with my head and turning me around the wrong way. But, as I continued to wander across the land, something in the distance caught my eye and I went to investigate. Within a few minutes, I arrived in what looked like a graveyard with a whole bunch of gravestones littering the entire area. But everything seemed a bit off because I noticed that almost all of the gravestones were completely blank until I got to one that had a name on it: Generica Haruka. My eyes began to immediately well up with tears as I knelt down to touch the gravestone. Generica's grave. I always visited this grave at every moment that I could. Immediately after school. In the morning on weekends and holidays. I even visited twice a day, bringing flowers to lay on top. But as I was reminiscing about the past, a zombified hand burst out of the ground and grabbed my wrist. As I struggled to get free, Generica's corpse rose out of the ground and stared at me menacingly with her one good eye glowing an intense cyan. The other side of her face, the left side, was completely decayed with only an empty eye socket staring at me, a ragged gap in her cheek offering the glimpse of an exposed jawbone and a strip of raw gristle stretching vertically across what remained of her smile. She was wearing her school uniform, which was all torn and ragged, and one of her breasts had seemingly fallen off while the other one was intact. Before long, she was trying to bite at my face and I was forced to shove my hand into her chest and slam her to the ground, breaking her back. But when I looked back at her corpse, it looked like she was freshly dead, her face, skin, and clothes looking like they did the day that she died with a puddle of blood all around her. I was completely horrified at what had just happened, but I became even more horrified when I looked down and saw that my arms were soaked in blood. Before I could even say anything, something grabbed me from behind and threw me away from Generica's corpse, but I managed to get back up without any trouble and got a good look at what attacked me. It looked like Ayano, but her entire body was all black and her eyes were red, and her mouth was represented by a sharp-toothed grin. It didn't take her long for her to pull out a knife and attack me, laughing maniacally. As she tried in vain to stab with her knife, I grabbed her by the neck and put her in a chokeslam, making her cough up some kind of black bile. But she just laughed it off and stood back up, preparing to rush me. I just responded by clenching my fist and getting into a battle ready stance, but the second that she lunged at me and prepared to chop my head off, both she and Generica's corpse disappeared, my arms were completely clean, and I suddenly found myself inside of a house. I was taken aback by the sudden change in scenery, but I almost immediately recognized where I was. It was Generica's house. The pictures along the walls of the hallway were of Generica and her family and the lilac wallpaper were a dead giveaway. But, as I was thinking about why exactly I was here, I heard the soft sounds of crying coming from one of the rooms behind me and headed toward where the sound was coming from. But when I did enter the room from where the sounds were coming from, it became clear to me which memory this was. I found a slightly younger version of myself huddled up in the corner of a room with purple wallpaper, a bubblegum pink bed with lacey covers and different pillows, and a small desk with a bedazzled notebook on it. This was on the day of Generica's funeral. As I was staring in sadness, I suddenly heard a slight knocking behind me and turned to see my mom standing in the doorway wearing a simple black dress.

"I thought I'd find you up here. Are you OK, sweetie?" Mom asked, sitting down at the foot of the bed and putting her hand on my younger self's shoulder.

"I don't know… One minute everything was fine and now… it's all falling apart," my younger self replied, tears running down his face.

"Sweetie, I'm so sorry. I know how much she meant to you."

"It's all my fault. I shouldn't have gone back in the school. If I had just stayed with her, I could've saved her…"

"Max, you don't know that. Jealousy is an ugly thing. That girl was probably…" Mom started to say. But she soon lost the words and my younger self just put his head back into his knees, completely distraught.

"You weren't there, Mom. Generica was my whole world. And I never got to say goodbye to her. This was all on me and now I have to live with it," my younger self said.

"Maxwell Joshua Smith, you look at me right now," Mom said with a frustrated look on her face. My younger self looked back up at Mom with a sorrowful look.

"Now, listen. There are going to be times when something goes wrong and things are out of our control, but the lesson is that we need to move on and if things are out of control, we aren't responsible for it. And besides, Generica couldn't have asked for anyone other than her parents who could've loved her more than you did. And you always made her feel loved, Sweetie," Mom said. My younger self just nodded and tenderly embraced her, but I just stood there, confused. Did I really blame myself that much for Generica's death? Was that what the root of all my negative emotions was? The questions were just weighing down on my mind as I l exited the house. But instead of walking out into the hellscape that I saw before, I found myself in a dark version of the town where I grew up. But I didn't question exactly why I was there. I just knew where I needed to go next. I had to go back to where it all began.

**Hiro's perspective**

"Hey, man. So… um… Zero Two and the others are having a bachelorette party. I heard that me and you were also supposed to have a party, but I really didn't know what to bring. You know, seeing as you're unconscious and all that," I said to Max as he laid in the water. To be honest, I felt pretty stupid just sitting there with a couple of ice fruit drinks in my hand when my friend was completely unconscious.

"It's been crazy for the past few days. Zero Two bought this dress that has a fluffy dress and she actually fashioned her flower crown to be her headdress for the dress. And she actually joked that her dress gave me… ahem… 'a boner'. Which it didn't. And then she got this dress for Nikki that has the colors of Aurora Borealis. And I had to go through tuxedos until she picked one that she and I really liked. After that we visited the church where we would be getting married and they have this large perch behind the alter because there's this giant bird who shows up to every wedding on this planet. So… yeah, it's been a rough couple of days here without you. But we're still really worried about you, man. Nikki just can't stop worrying about you…" I said.

"Hey, Darling. Whatcha doin'?" I heard behind me. I turned and saw Zero Two walking over to me, wearing her casual clothes.

"Just checking on Max. Seeing how he's doing… You?" I replied as she sat down at the side of one of the empty pools and took off her shoes and socks.

"I got bored. The party spiraled into madness at the end when Amki and Rhonda got blind drunk and started fighting with each other. Celeste and Nikki are busy trying to break up the fight."

"So, you didn't have fun?"

"No, I did. But it wasn't as fun without you," Zero Two said as she dipped her feet into the empty pool.

"Wait, Zero Two, what are you doing?! Calypso said that we can't just dip or feet into the pools!" I said. But Zero Two just gave me a smug smile and skimmed her toe across the surface of the opalescent water.

"Darling, do you honestly expect me to fall for some kind of cryptic warning that has never been-," she started to say, but her smile suddenly vanished and she gritted her teeth and held her head in pain, trying hard to bear the pain as I rushed over to her and held her head up a bit. Calypso must've heard the noise because as I was helping Zero Two, she rushed into the room.

"What happened? She didn't touch the water, did she?!" Calypso asked as Zero Two recovered from the pain.

"She just slipped on the ice and fell. That's all," I said. I didn't expect that lie to hold up, but it looked like she actually bought it.

"Well, tell her to be more careful next time and that this is not an ice rink," Calypso said before she left. Zero Two groaned and held her head in pain as I sat her up.

"You know, I would say that I told you so, but I don't think that would be appropriate to say. Let's get you back to the others and see if we can stop the pain," I said as I started to pick her up.

"Darling, wait! I remember!" Zero Two suddenly said.

"Remember what?"

"How we got here! How I ended up back on the Strelizia…"

"What are you talking about?"

"There was that woman. Clothed in white robes. The light coming off of her body shone so brightly. She offered me the chance to be with you again. I said yes and… just like that we sped across the galaxy and she placed me back in our FRANXX…"

"Zero Two, we can't worry about that right now. We can talk about this later."

"Why? Don't you believe me?" Zero Two asked with sad eyes. I just gently hugged her in response.

"I DO believe you. But I'm more concerned about you right now. We can talk more about what you remembered later, OK?" I said. Zero Two just nodded in reply and we both left the caverns to meet up with the others.

**Max's perspective, The Dream Realm**

Akademi High School. That's where it all started for me. Back then, I wasn't really seen anything special by anyone. I was just a lonely boy who always got picked on by the school bully and was socially awkward with everyone. I did have a bully issue in middle school as well, but high school was complete HELL compared to that. But there was one girl in the entire school who was the most sweet and innocent human being that I had ever met: Generica. I always heard rumors that many boys had tried to become her boyfriend, but she always thought that her one true love would find her. But Philip was never one to honor someone else's wishes. He and his posse tried to violate her in a school hallway. But, as fate would have it, I was the one to save her from Philip, even if I was left with a black eye and a bloody nose. But my bravery and compassion ultimately won me Generica's heart and we started dating after that. Many said that I was completely crazy for taking on Philip, but I felt that it was totally worth it just to defend the honor of a beautiful girl. But walking through the halls of a nightmarish version of my high school felt unnerving and brought up a lot of bad memories that I had wanted to forget. But, as I made my way through the halls of the school, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched by a dark presence of some kind. My feeling was confirmed when I heard a ghastly whisper and the sound of screeching metal behind me. And sure enough, coming from the hallway behind me was a dark presence that resembled Philip, only bigger, uglier, and scarier, and it was dragging its claws along the lockers, creating a horrible screeching noise that reverberated throughout the dark halls. Before I could react, the shadow swiped out at me with its claws, barely scratching my chest. There was absolutely no way that I could fight something like this without any weapons, so I turned and ran from the shadow, trying to put some distance between us. But it immediately gave chase, trying to take me out as it followed me through the halls. As I ran, I tried take cover inside one of the rooms, but each of the doors were locked, leaving me to continue running in the hopes that at least one door was open. Right as the shadow was about to grab me, I managed to open one of the doors and finally get inside, leaving the frustrated entity outside to roar uselessly at the door and then leave. I was completely confused by the shadow's sudden retreat. It surely could've opened the door if it wanted, so why did it just leave? But a small faint glow from behind distracted me from answering that question and I turned to face the source. And what I saw took my breath away. Sitting at one of the desks, reading a book in silence, was a girl in a school outfit with purple hair and skin as white as snow. And when she turned to me, her eyes were a vibrant magenta, accompanied by the sweetest smile I had ever known. It was Generica.

"Hello, Marshmallow," she said before she closed her book and began to walk over to me. I crumpled to my knees in astonishment as I beheld Generica standing right in front of me.

"It's you… How is this even possible?" I asked. Generica just kneeled in front of me before she put her hand on my cheek in a soft gesture of love.

"I've always been with you. My spirit has stayed beside you because you've never forgotten me," Generica said as she caressed my face. I just responded by hugging her as tears ran down my face.

"I could I never forget you!"

"I know you couldn't…"

"Generica, listen. I'm so sorry about…" I started to say before Generica put a finger up to my lips.

"Shush. What happened wasn't your fault. So, stop blaming yourself for what happened. That's the whole reason that you're here," Generica said before she stood back up and sat down on top of one of the desks.

"What do you mean?"

"All this time, you've been blaming yourself for something that you thought was your fault. All of your rage has stemmed from that and that's why you've felt so agitated as of late. But you were brought here so you could confront your past and drive your anger back into the depths from where it came."

"Generica, what are you saying?"

"That you can't give in to your anger. Your friends need you. But you need to overcome your fears and your anger before you can return to them."

"That's just the thing. I don't know how," I replied. Generica just walked back over to me and wrapped her arms around my neck before resting her forehead on mine, the corners of her mouth forming one of those sweet smiles that I cherished so much.

"Of course, you do. You always have. Ever since the day you saved me from Philip, you always had this fire inside you that always kept you from falling into the darkness. And it's always been in here…" Generica said, placing her hand on my chest. I didn't really understand exactly what she was taking about at first, but the answer came to me pretty fast: Hope. Hope was something that neither fear nor anger could extinguish. Even in the darkness, hope would light the way to freedom.

"I don't know if that will be enough. There's just… so much death that I've caused. So much evil inside of me…"

"Perhaps. But, take it from my experience: There is so much good in you that it outweighs the evil. You've fought back your grief and you recovered when you lost me. You can win this too," Generica said before she turned to leave. But, before she could, I grabbed her arm and reeled her in for one final kiss. Generica was a bit shocked at first, but her expression softened, and she returned the kiss. After only five seconds of kissing, I broke off the kiss and stared into her eyes.

"I swear to you… I will defend Nikki for the sake of your memory. Down to my last breath if I have to. And I will never leave her side. I WILL save them. Whatever it takes," I said with a determined voice. Generica gave me a confident smile and placed her hand on my face.

"I know that you will. Take care, my Marshmallow," Generica replied. Before she began to disappear, I took the opportunity to hug her one final time.

"I love you, Generica. I always will," I said. After a slow flash of white light engulfed the two of us, I found myself back on the banks near the river of souls I had seen before, except there was a pillar of light blue light reaching towards the skies in front of me. I figured that this had to be the exit out of here and started to slowly walk toward the light. But as I was nearly halfway there, something hit me square in the face and knocked me back towards the river.

"You know, I would've hoped that you would've stayed away," a demonic voice said as I struggled to get to my feet. When I looked up, I saw an armored figure standing over me. His armor was jet black and his eyes were crimson red, and his face looked like… mine. I couldn't believe what was standing in front of me. It was me, except he was in my Berserker form, fully clad in armor and electricity surrounding his arms. I figured that this had to be the final test before I could get out of here.

"So, you're the one who's been messing with my head. What are you?" I asked as I stood up.

"That should be obvious. The energy that you absorbed… it made me. All the rage and anger gave me strength… until I found a way to outgrow you…" my doppelganger said.

"So, that's you're whole plan? To just keep me here? 'Cause let me tell you, that's not going to work. I'm going back whether you like it or not," I replied before I made a mad dash for the pillar of light. But my doppelganger was quick to react and hit me square in the chest, audibly breaking a few of my ribs. The sharp pain in my chest made it hard for me to recover, but when I did get back up, I made another run for the pillar. My doppelganger once again prevented me from getting to it, but this time I fought back as best I could, hitting him in the chest and face with as much strength as I could muster up. But, when I did, it felt like I was hitting a wall made out of solid concrete and my knuckles began to bleed as I tried in vain to take my doppelganger out. After a while, he backhanded me so hard that my mouth and nose began to bleed, and I felt weak in my arms as I tried to get back up.

"You've my power in action before. What hope did you have to stop me exactly?" my doppelganger asked as he walked over to me. I didn't fully understand myself what was going on. I was full of hope and I had cast off my anger and rage. So why did I feel so powerless? I didn't really have time to think about it because my doppelganger grabbed me by the neck and proceeded to slam me against the ground. It didn't break my back, but the pain was still unbearable, and I slumped to the ground in defeat as my doppelganger put his boot against my neck.

"Don't get back up. Just sleep. And never wake from the darkness…" my doppelganger said before he left me to die and he headed toward the pillar of light. Everything began to go dark as I laid in a pool of blood. But, as I was about to pass out, a familiar voice kept me from falling asleep.

"MAX! Max, stay with us!"

**Nikki's perspective, 5 minutes earlier**

I sat beside the pool that Max was submerged in, waiting for any signs of him waking up. I know that it had only been 5 days since Max went into his mind, but it felt like a month had already passed and I was hoping that it wouldn't be much longer before Max woke up. As I was deep in thought, Celeste and Calypso both entered the caverns, looking like they had been searching for me.

"I figured that you'd be here. How are you?" Celeste asked, putting her hand on my shoulder.

"I just… thought I'd stay here for a while. See if there were any changes or he had woken up," I replied.

"I understand your concerns, Nicole. I really do. But, right now, I think it would be best if you just let him be," Calypso said.

"You know, you say that, but it's been 5 days already! What if he's just wandering around in his own mind, completely lost?!"

"Actually, time moves slower in the dream realm than it does in real life. So, what may seem like days for us may be only hours from Max's perspective."

"In either case, Nikki, it would be best if Calypso keeps watch over Max for a while. She can sense whenever Max is in distress, so she'll immediately tell us if he's in trouble," Celeste said as I kept staring down at Max. But, as Celeste was talking to me, I noticed that Max's oxygen mask was suddenly starting to fill up with blood until it started to flow into the water, and he began to jerk violently despite being in suspended animation.

"What's happening?!" I asked in a panic as Calypso tried to see what was wrong with him.

"Something must be attacking him in the dream realm! His entire nervous system is going into overdrive!" Calypso said as she used her magic to assess the situation. As she was doing so, Max's eyes suddenly opened, revealing red eyes with black sclera as he continued to jerk around.

"Can't you do anything to help him?!" Celeste asked.

"I can't pull him out of the pool or else it will kill him! I don't know how to counteract this!" Calypso replied. I just sat there in a panic, trying to figure out a way to help. I HAD to help. And there seemed to be only one way for me to do so. I immediately dipped my hands into the pool and put them on the sides of his head. Before I knew it, my mind began to sync up with his.

**Max's perspective**

It looked like I was in that white flash that you see before a near death experience. I don't know what was going on, but what I did know was that I was suddenly hearing the voice of Nikki coming from somewhere. I tried to get to my feet so I could look for her, but no matter how hard I tried, something was keeping me on my knees. But, as it turned out, I didn't have to look far for Nikki, because I saw her right in front of me, her arms outstretched as she tried to look for me. I wasn't able to stand up, but I was able to crawl forward a little so I could grab her arm.

"Max? Is that you? Stay with me!" she yelled.

"Nikki, I'm right here! How did you get here? What's happened?" I asked as I held her in my arms.

"Max, I don't know what's going on in there, but you need to fight it! You're dying! I don't know if Calypso can help you or not!"

"What? Nikki, what's happening to me? What's going on?" I asked. But Nikki probably couldn't hear me, because she didn't answer me, and tears began to run down her cheeks.

"Max, please. You're the strongest person that I've ever known, and you've been doing great ever since we started all of this. If you lose yourself to your rage, then the entire universe is doomed. I'm not going to give up. And I know that you NEVER give up. We all need you. We can't do this without you. I can't do this without you," Nikki said as she pulled me in closer and hugged me tightly. As we both held each other in our embraces, I heard a faint little heartbeat coming from inside of Nikki and the tears once again came to my eyes. But, before I could ask about anything, Nikki was suddenly dragged away from me and disappeared before I found myself in front of my doppelganger and the pillar of light again. The pain still searing through my body, I dragged myself up from the dirt and began to slowly make my way back to the pillar of light, where my doppelganger had already placed his hand inside. But as I made my way to the pillar, my doppelganger became aware that I was on my feet again and turned back to me.

"You're still here? I thought you would at least accept defeat. But it doesn't matter. Soon, I will be free of this prison and nothing will be able to stop me," my doppelganger said as he began to walk towards me.

"But that's the thing: You can't leave here if you kill me, can you?" I asked. As my doppelganger threw a punch, I managed to dodge him and land a solid punch on his chest. It didn't knock him back, but he did feel it.

"You're very observant. And you're also correct. If I were to kill you, I would also cease to exist. But all I need to do is break your will, not kill you. Try as you might, you can't get rid of me that easily. Your anger will always dwell within."

"You're right. I can't get rid of you. But that's just what makes me human. You can knock me down as much as you like, but I'll always get back up to fight you. You can try and bury me underneath all of my guilt, but my friends will always be there to help pull me out of the darkness. The truth is… I'm the one who's in control of me, not you. And as long as I have hope in my heart, you won't keep me down for long," I said. My doppelganger just chuckled halfheartedly before he threw another punch at me. But this time, when I blocked the punch, my doppelganger's arm mysteriously lit ablaze with some kind of blue fire, which actually broke his armor and created burn scars on his arm as he stumbled backwards in pain. I was also surprised, but it wasn't just because I actually managed to wound my doppelganger. It was also because I noticed that my arm was now a vivid neon blue surrounded by matching blue flames. But I didn't have time to worry about it. I turned my attention back to my doppelganger and began to fight him without any mercy. Although he was still a match for me, my newfound power proved to be too lethal for him and his armor easily broke as I relentlessly fought him.

"How… how do you possess such power?!" my doppelganger asked as he tried to stand back up.

"I think that should be obvious," I replied. My doppelganger just snarled and tried in vain to incapacitate me, but I was able to avoid his fury until I grabbed him by the face and slammed him back into the ground. As I stepped back, I noticed that we were right by the river of souls, which was starting to bubble and churn. My doppelganger's face and most of his body was badly burned and he struggled to get back to his feet while he drew his arm blade, the only piece of armor he had. But, as he took a step forward, a soul reached out and grabbed him by the leg and tripped him up before it started to drag him back towards the river. My doppelganger tried to crawl away from the souls, but another soul grabbed his other leg, followed by another and then several more after that. The souls all started to drag him into the river where the entire river was waiting for their prey. Seeing that I had triumphed over him, I began walk back towards the pillar of light, leaving my doppelganger to be consumed by the souls.

"WAIT! Please! I can help you! If you help me, I'll give you my power… No enemy will be able to stand against you. You can keep your loved ones safe from anything…" my doppelganger pleaded.

"That's just the thing. You've already let me use your power before. But that power… it's too destructive. Maybe it was useful before. But it's made me delve into bloodlust and chaos. And I can't run the risk of hurting my friends because of it. So, thanks, but no thanks."

"You can't leave me like this! You can't save them without me!"

"If I can't… I'll come find you," I replied right as the souls grabbed my doppelganger and pulled him into the river as he screamed for mercy. I just began to walk toward the pillar of light, a little worse for wear, but I felt even more empowered than I did before. As I stepped into the light, the intense brightness made my entire body see through and it felt like my skin was burning a bit, but I didn't care. I was already on my way home.

**Nikki's perspective**

Celeste and I collided against the wall just as Amki and Rhea entered the caverns, alarmed by the sudden commotion.

"NO! Send me back! I have to help him!" I yelled, trying to get free of Celeste's grasp.

"Nikki, you need to stop! You're becoming hysterical!" Celeste replied. But I just struggled to get free which forced Amki to restrain me before the entire cavern went silent. After a brief moment, Calypso looked back at us with discouraged eyes.

"He's… he's gone. I…I'm sorry…" she said, stepping back from the pool.

"DON'T YOU SAY THAT! DON'T YOU DARE SAY THAT! HE CAN'T BE DEAD! HE JUST CAN'T!" I wailed, trying to get Amki to let me go.

"Nikki. I'm so sorry. There's nothing we can do…" Celeste said. I buried my head into Amki's stomach and began to sob uncontrollably as Rhea put her hand on my shoulder to try and comfort me. I just couldn't believe it. We came all this way just to help Max… and now he was gone. The only man whom I ever loved the most… gone. But my sorrow didn't last long because a bright blue light suddenly filled the entire cavern, nearly blinding us. The source of the light was coming from the pool where Max's body was, and the opalescent water was starting to swirl into a whirlpool. As the five of us looked in confusion and awe before the pool suddenly erupted into a blue pillar of light that intensely shone throughout the room, blinding us. When the light finally died down, we saw some kind of figure standing in the middle of the pool with his arms outstretched. Even though, it looked like a normal human, its skin was some kind of blue energy with blue flames surrounding its arms and covering its head. After the figure had stared up at the ceiling for a little bit, it looked back down at its arms for a while before it turned its attention to us. As Calypso pulled out some kind of talisman and started to say some kind of prayer, Celeste immediately drew her katanas and Amki got into a battle-ready stance, ready to fight whatever the figure was. But I just pushed past them and walked up to the figure, not knowing exactly what to expect. The figure just stared at me and then he walked over to the side of the pool and climbed out before he crumpled to his knees and fell into my lap. Before I could ask him who he was, the figure's skin began to fade into a normal peach color and his head flames went out, revealing Max's face underneath. It was perfectly healthy, his hair was brown, and his eyes were their normal color again. Tears of joy came to my eyes as he took my hand and smiled at me.

"Hi," he said weakly. I didn't really have much to say, but I think that I said it all when I tightly hugged him as the others looked on.

"What… but, how… You were practically dead! You had no pulse!" Calypso said, dumbfounded.

"Really? …Sorry about that…"

"No, Max… It's… it's a miracle. We thought you lost," Celeste said as Rhea knelt down in front of us and her hand started to glow.

"Unbelievable. The energy… it's still there, but… it's been buried down so deep that it's almost as if he's been cured of it," Rhea said.

"Does this mean you back in control?" Amki asked. Max just nodded in reply as I nuzzled against his face.

"Hey, uh, Nik? Do you think that we could go somewhere else? It's cold out here," Max asked as he shivered a bit. I just couldn't help but chuckle as I nuzzled up to his face again.

**Max's perspective**

5 days. I had been stuck in my mind for five days even though it felt like only 5 hours to me. And there was a lot that I missed while I was unconscious, but right now, it didn't matter. Right now, I was busy getting ready for Hiro and Zero Two's wedding, rushing a bit to get ready inside one of the upper rooms of the church where they were getting married. As I was putting on my suit and my bowtie, Nikki entered the room wearing a dress with colors of blue, green, and purple that were arranged in a beautiful pattern that looked like an aurora and a hairband with flowers adorning it.

"How are you feeling?" she asked as I finished tying my tie.

"My head feels a whole lot clearer now. And the heat suit that Celeste gave me is helping with the cold. How about you? You didn't get too lonely while I was out, did you?" I asked. Nikki just walked over to me and gently hugged me.

"I did get a bit lonely. We were all really worried about you. But it's great that we were able to help you. I can only imagine how hard it was to be going through your memories like that."

"It wasn't too bad. I guess that I just had to remind myself to keep going and to not give up."

"Did you… see Generica in there?"

"Yeah… Well, I saw her spirit. As it turns out, she's been with me even after she died. It's so weird how I thought that she was completely lost to me, only to find out that she was never far."

"So… that was what made you drive back all that rage and anger?"

"No. It was you," I said. Nikki suddenly got a worried look on her face and she began to shiver a bit.

"W-what are you saying?" she asked. I just walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her and hugged her tenderly.

"We found each other. When we least expected it, destiny brought us together. We were both there for each other all these years and we always overcame the odds whenever they seemed impossible. You're the person that I care about most in my life and I'm so grateful that I'm with you," I said. Nikki let out a sigh of relief and softened up before she returned the hug and we let a minute of silence go by.

"I'm glad that I'm with you too, Max. Ever since I've been with you, I've been able to open up more and feel less lonely than I used to. I love you so much."

"I love you too."

"Well, I should get going. I need to be at the altar before Zero Two. I'll meet you there," Nikki said, straightening my tie before she left. I wanted to tell her that I knew. But I just didn't know how to do so. Plus, there was also the possibility that it would only worry her even more than it did now. I decided to keep quiet about it for now and worry about the problems that we were facing right now. After I was finished with getting ready, I made my down to the main lobby, where Zero Two, who was in her wedding dress and holding a bouquet, was pacing back and forth like she was afraid or something.

"What's up? You nervous or something?" I asked, approaching Zero Two. She was a bit surprised by my sudden appearance, but she wasn't too surprised.

"Yeah, I'm a little nervous. It's just all happening so fast. I mean, sure, there aren't that many in attendance, and the Tendricite's tradition of a normal wedding is way different from what we knew, and…" Zero Two said rapidly.

"Hey. Slow down. Take a deep breath. Today is your day. The start of a new chapter in you and Hiro's lives. So, you have nothing to worry about, OK?"

"…Yeah, you're right. I guess I'm all anxious about nothing…"

"Well, I think that we should head in now. I'm pretty sure he's just as anxious as you are," I said, holding out my arm to her. Zero Two just looked at my arm in confusion before looking at me with a raised eyebrow.

"What? I'm not marrying you," she said.

"Wh- Oh. Right. See, on our Earth, it's tradition for the father or someone of equal importance to walk the bride out to her future husband. But, if you don't want to do that, then we don't have to."

"No, no, we can do that. If it makes this feel more like an actual wedding, then I'm all for it!" Zero Two replied before she grabbed my arm with a beaming smile. The two of us then opened the doors to the altar, where Celeste, Hiro, and Nikki were standing, while the rest of the team were sitting in the pews at the front. But, aside from them, there was barely anyone else attending. I did notice that there was a large T-shaped hole behind the altar with a perch of some kind on the outside. But I just focused on walking Zero Two all the way down the aisle before I handed her off to Hiro and stood behind him while Zero Two handed her bouquet to Nikki.

"Welcome everyone. I can tell that everyone is excited for this wedding to get started. Since the usual pastor who works here was out sick, I will be serving as a replacement for the wedding. But, before we begin, we are still waiting on one final guest who will be appearing shortly," Celeste announced. I had no idea what she was talking about, seeing as our entire team was already here, but the answer came to me and probably everyone else when a strong gust of wind blew throughout the entire church and an enormous bird came to rest on the perch. The bird's plumage was white with a dark blue three feathered crest adorning its head. But the most striking feature about the bird were its outstretched wings. Not only did it look like the wingspan was about 50 feet, but it also had iridescent feathers that changed color as its wings shifted before it folded them in. Its tail feathers were long and were the same color as its crest was. Everyone was pretty shocked to see this gigantic bird just perched behind the church, but Celeste looked like she was expecting this bird to show up.

"Now we may begin. Dearly Beloved: We are gathered together under the watchful eye of the Cryoavis to unite this couple, Hiro and Zero Two, in the bond of holy matrimony. We will now hear the marriage vows. Hiro, do you take Zero Two to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?" Celeste asked.

"I do," Hiro replied with a smile.

"Zero Two, do you take Hiro to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

"I do," Zero Two said.

"All right. Now we will have the exchanging of the rings," Celeste said. Both me and Nikki walked up to Hiro and Zero Two and we gave them the rings and after we did so, Hiro put Zero Two's ring on her finger and Zero Two did the same to Hiro. As this was going on, I noticed that Amki was ACTUALLY crying. Odango must've also noticed this, because she reached over and tapped Amki's shoulder, but the second that she did, Amki wiped her face and tried to regain her composure.

"By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Congratulations. You may now kiss the bride," Celeste said. Not even two seconds after the words left Celeste's mouth, Zero Two grabbed Hiro's collar and kissed him full on the lips. Hiro was a bit surprised by the sudden kiss, but he immediately returned the kiss and wrapped his arms around her waist. After they had finished the kiss, the Cryoavis let out a loud screech and then took off with a large flap of its wings, creating another large gust of wind that blew throughout the church. As me, Nikki, Hiro, and Zero Two looked up in awe, a large feather dropped through the hole in the wall and gently floated down into Zero Two's hands. The feather itself was extremely beautiful, turning red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple when Zero Two inspected it with interest. As she was doing so, Hiro picked Zero Two and held her in his arms before he gave her a smile.

"It's official: We're married now, Zero Two," Hiro said. Zero Two just smiled and kissed Hiro again as we all began to clap and cheer.

**Hiro's perspective, aboard the Centurion**

It had been a completely crazy week. The past five days were just us trying to set up a wedding while Max recovered and, on the last day, Max had recovered and me and Zero Two finally got married. The whole thing was a bit stressful but, in the end, I'd say it was worth it. As I was sitting at the bar, deep in thought, the sound of knocking broke me away from my thoughts. I turned and saw Max standing in the doorway with a couple of drinks in his hands.

"Hey, man. How come you're in here and not with the others?" he asked as he came over and sat down on the other side of the bar.

"I was just a bit tired. Plus, it was getting a bit too loud for me. I was planning to go back in a few minutes," I replied.

"Well, before we do, I thought we'd have a drink to commemorate this occasion. And also, because we didn't have that bachelor party," Max said, opening the drinks and pouring them into a couple of glasses. He then handed me one of the glasses and we raised them into the air together.

"To happiness," he said before the two of us clinked our glasses and drank up. The drink tasted sweet like a fruit, but it also had a bit of a tangy flavor with a bit a fizziness.

"It's weird, isn't it?" I asked.

"What?"

"I mean, we woke up in this dimension not knowing what to expect and now me and Zero Two are married despite everything that's happened so far."

"Yeah, I guess that is a little weird."

"We've fought against alien soldiers, apex predators, and cowboys, we ended up rewriting history in my dimension, you took a trip into your own mind…"

"And I just found out recently that I'm going to be a father…" Max finished. His statement confused me for a second, but I could tell that it was bothering him.

"How'd you find that out?" I asked cautiously.

"When I was inside the Dream Realm… when Nikki tried to keep me from falling into the darkness… I heard a tiny little heartbeat coming from inside of her."

"How do you think that happened?"

"Me and Nikki… last December, we both got drunk and when we got home… we had sex. I guess that she got pregnant from that and she's been hiding it from me for the last 2 and a half months."

"Well… isn't that something to be excited about?" I asked.

"It is. But, given the circumstances, I can see why she didn't bring it up. So, now's probably not a good time to talk about it," Max replied, taking another drink from his glass.

"So… you'll talk to her about it when this is all over?"

"Yeah. But for now, she can't know that I found out or that I told you. So… can you please not say anything about it to her?"

"My lips are sealed. Besides, that's between you and her. What happens between you and her is your business," I said. But, when I looked down at my glass, my thoughts turned to my Squad and the memories of Mitsuru and Kokoro's wedding.

"What's wrong?" Max asked.

"I just… wish that our Squad could've been at our wedding. I'm pretty sure that they would've loved to come," I replied. Max just gave me a smile and put a hand on my shoulder.

"They would be proud of the two of you. I'm sure that they would've loved to come to the wedding no matter what the situation was. You're a great guy and an even better teammate."

"Thanks, man," I said before the two of us continued to drink and talk.

**To Be Continued…**


	16. Chapter 16: The Council of Light

HuniePop Space Adventures

Chapter 16: The Council of Light

The streets were wet with puddles that were slowly expanding as the rain continued to pour, the skies periodically being lit up by the lightning that was flashing throughout the clouds and the rumble of thunder being heard as the local residents tried to find shelter from the pouring rain. Many of them either covered their heads with their hoods or took shelter underneath some of the balconies, some of which had little stores underneath them which had necessities that the residents were trying to buy. But, amidst the calm and gentle ambience, there was the scent of fear in the air. On the rooftops were the sounds of blaster fire and stone walls being smashed apart. A hooded figure was fleeing from an unseen attacker, occasionally firing his blaster back at whoever was pursuing him. But the pursuer was able to dodge every blaster bolt that was fired. Most of the walls that the bolts hit instead broke apart and several small stones fell into the streets below, nearly injuring the civilians below. As the figure continued to flee from the pursuer, he failed to see another pursuer standing right in front of him until he ran into him. As he looked up in terror at the second pursuer, his armor being illuminated by a sudden streak of lightning flashing across the sky, the hooded figure pointed his blaster at him, but the pursuer sliced it in two with his arm blade before he grabbed the figure by his robes and held him off the ground.

"Please, leave me be! I have done nothing to anger you!" the figure said.

"Then why did you run?" the second pursuer replied before the first pursuer took out a medallion with an 'O' shaped symbol on it.

"Where did you get this from?" he asked, showing it to the hooded figure.

"I-it is a family heirloom! It means nothing!"

"Really? Because the symbol on this matches the symbol that's been associated with a terrorist that we've been tracking for some time. Why did you have this?"

"You have the wrong person! I have nothing to do with that madman!" the hooded figure said, trying to break free from the second pursuer's grasp.

"You're afraid… But it's not us that you're afraid of. It's the Overlord, isn't it? He threatened to kill you if you tried to tell anyone. We're not going to hurt you, but you need to tell us everything you know about him. His base of operations, how many others work for him, everything," the second pursuer said calmly.

"There is no saving us. We are all his slaves. Many of us just don't know it yet," the hooded figure said before he pulled out a hidden blaster and shot the second pursuer in the face. As he recoiled from the sudden blast, the hooded figure took the opportunity to run while the first pursuer tried to help his comrade. But, as the hooded figure climbed onto the ledge and prepared to jump onto another roof, the slipperiness of the ledge due to the rain caused the figure to slip and plummet to his death in the streets below. Many civilians gasped and screamed as the figure's blood began to flow out, mixing with the rain puddles. Both of the pursuers looked down at the figure's corpse as more civilians rushed over to see what the commotion was about, while others tried to help the hooded figure to no avail.

"Celeste. Bring us back up," the second pursuer said before a bright pillar of light surrounded the two of them and they disappeared before the authorities showed up.

**Hiro's perspective**

Today had been extremely stressful and I could tell that Max was really upset at today's failure. After we had been beamed back to the teleporter room of the Centurion, we headed back to the bridge, where Celeste and Nikki were reviewing a list of the Overlord's acolytes that Selene had supplied us with.

"How did the mission go?" Celeste asked as Max took off his helmet.

"The acolyte bolted before we could talk to him. And after we did catch up to him, he accidentally fell to his death while trying," Max said before he collapsed into a chair and rubbed his head in frustration.

"So, it didn't go well," Nikki said cautiously.

"No, it didn't," I said.

"Did you try what I requested you to do?" Celeste asked.

"I didn't threaten him. I just asked him politely and he still ran from us."

"Because he was afraid of you."

"No, it's because he was afraid of HIM. Every single acolyte that we've tried to question always runs from us because they're afraid that the Overlord will kill them if they do talk," Max said.

"It's true. The Overlord has such a tight grip on most of his followers that they're afraid of suffering an agonizing death at his hands. It makes sense that they're trying to escape any sort of questioning," Selene said as she entered the room.

"OK, but that doesn't help us, Selene! You gave us this list so we could try and find out where the Overlord's main base of operations is so we could take it out!" Nikki protested.

"I never said that getting information would be that easy…"

"Look, yes, it's taking a bit longer than we thought, but until Rhea can find out where this so-called 'secret weapon' is, we can't exactly mount an attack on the Overlord. For now, we should just strategize a new plan and find out where the next acolyte is. Now, Hiro, go get some rest. It may take some time for us to find the next acolyte," Max said. I just nodded and left the room so the others could work. Chasing that acolyte wasn't exactly too bad, but my muscles were still aching from punching I did from the mission before the one we just did. To be honest, it DID feel like I would benefit from a quick rest. But, as I entered my room and closed the door behind me, I saw something that completely surprised me. Zero Two was standing right in front of me with a big grin on her face, but she was wearing absolutely NOTHING except for an apron.

"Welcome back, Darling! Would you like dinner? Or a hot bath? Or maybe… you… want… me?" she said with a flirty and seductive tone. I literally couldn't find the words to answer and I was dumbfounded at this bold approach that she was giving, but I just shook my head to snap myself out of my trance and then looked her in the eye.

"Zero Two, may I please ask what exactly you're doing?" I asked. Zero Two just smiled and twirled around a bit, flashing her naked backside at me as she spun.

"It's wife role-playing, Darling. This is how a newlywed wife greets her husband when he gets home from work."

"OK, but this isn't our home and I wouldn't really consider calling what I got back from 'work'."

"Well, this is apparently a custom on Earth, so I thought I'd give it a shot."

"But what if someone comes in here and sees you wearing that?!" I asked. Zero Two's grin just got bigger as she walked up to me and forced me against the door. Before I could say anything, she then pressed the console beside the door, which locked it.

"There. Problem solved. Now, I'll ask you again, Darling: Do you want dinner… a hot bath… or do you… want… me?" she asked. I was completely speechless, and I was really embarrassed. I mean, don't get me wrong, I was glad that Zero Two was trying to be a very loving wife, but wearing nothing but an apron seemed a bit excessive. Right as I was about to give an answer, we both heard a knock on our door.

"Hiro! Zero Two! I have found something that I must share with everyone! You must come to the command bridge at once!" Rhea's voice said from the other side of the door. Zero Two just groaned aloud in complete frustration and began to get dressed.

"Can we ever get a break around here?!" she asked angrily.

"Maybe we can talk about this later?" I asked sheepishly. Zero Two didn't answer me, but right as she was about to exit the room, she turned her head to me and booped me on the nose with a slight smile on her face. When then made our way to the bridge, where everyone was already seated around the holo-table.

"PLEASE tell me that we finally have something, because it feels like my muscles are turning to jelly from training way too much…" Amki said, crossing her arms.

"Do you all remember the acolyte that we were trying to find back at the Phantom Facility? It turns out that he was never actually an acolyte. He was actually a spy working for a secret organization that we're trying to find: The Council of Light," Rhea said before a hologram of five different individuals showed up on the holo-table. The first figure was humanoid in appearance with orange eyes and a brown robe with a hood covering his bearded face, but his arms and legs looked like they were made of rocks. The second figure looked like some kind of wind-like formation, but it had the appearance of a human with metal parts covering its chest, arms, and hips. The third had the face of a tentacled monster and was covered in red robes with metallic hands poking out of its sleeves. The fourth was more feminine than the others and she had fins on the sides of her neck and fins running down the sides of her arms while wearing a blue dress and holding a trident. The final figure was broader and more muscular humanoid with a beard who had armor on his arms and shoulders and an armored belt covering some simple fur pants. He also had a crown of some kind surrounding his head.

"Who are these guys?" Max asked.

"These are the beings that make up the Council of Light. Each of them represents the five basic elements of fire, water, earth, air, and spirit. Each are from different planets, but they all had a single goal: to protect any universe from a threat only of catastrophic proportions. All of them have been imbued with special powers that they use only for the good of others, not themselves," Rhea explained.

"Wait… only threats of catastrophic proportions? So, they barely interfere with anything else?" Nikki asked.

"The Council of Light believed that it would be best for every species to determine their own fate, although they often tried to help others find a better path. Plus, there are some dangers that lie outside of their own power."

"OK, so where the hell have they been? Because this definitely feels like a threat of catastrophic proportions…" Amki asked.

"They died when the Overlord first came to power. For some time, the location of where their meeting place was had been lost. Until now."

"But, wait, the acolyte said that only someone from the Magistrus clan could decipher that book. So, who wrote it?" Max asked. Rhea just walked over to the hologram of the crowned individual and pointed at him.

"This figure right here is King Aariv. He was the founder and king of Obraxis who was blessed with the wisdom that fortified the foundations of the residents of that planet. There are also legends that state that he lived for over 500 years and he watched his people expand their civilization across the planet and create new ways of living. But some say that he left Obraxis in search of something more… fulfilling," Rhea said.

"So, where exactly was their base of operations?" Eva asked. Rhea just pressed a button, which pulled up a hologram of a planet that looked like it was adorned with lights on every single land mass.

"Their meeting place lies deep in the catacombs on the planet of Altus. The very place where the Overlord's reign of terror began."

"Wait, I thought you said that planet was destroyed?" Amki objected.

"No, the Empire of Altus was destroyed, not the planet itself. It was said that the Council stayed in the underground catacombs of Altus, briefly appearing before the empire's leaders to give prophetic warnings of the future of their government. But the leaders paid no heed to the warnings until the Overlord destroyed them all. After the collapse of the government, the planet became a cesspool of gambling, prostitution, drug dealing, and everything else that represents evil," Rhea explained.

"And yet, underneath all o' this, they got a weapon buried deep down there?" Rhonda asked.

"That is correct. Apparently, according to the book that Rhea had been deciphering, the weapon is the sword that King Aariv used to vanquish the undead armies of Nekros. It functions much like the Crucible, except it absorbs and disposes of negative energy. And it also says that it holds another kind of power, but the book doesn't say exactly what it is," Celeste said.

"So, where on Altus are the catacombs?" Max asked. Celeste responded by rotating the hologram of the planet and zooming in on a large building with lights all around it and a neon sign that read "The Good Time Club and Casino".

"According to the coordinates found in the book, it appears that the catacombs are somewhere beneath the planet's largest casino. But the book also says that there should be a secret entrance and Rhea suspects that it should be on the ground floor of the casino," she said.

"The Council of Light had several defenders that usually guarded the secret entrance. If some of them had survived the fall of the empire, they may know where the entrance to the catacombs is," Rhea added.

"And I assume that getting to the catacombs will be easy?" Rhonda asked.

"Anything but. There's no doubt that the Overlord will have already sent assassins to try and prevent us from finding the weapon. And judging from the fact that the place is densely packed with all manner of people, meaning that we'll need stay alert at all times," Selene said.

"OK, hold up. So… we just infiltrate the largest casino that this planet has to offer… which is filled with all manner of drug dealers, prostitutes, gamblers and party animals… not to mention possible assassins which will be after us… just to find what is potentially the strongest weapon in the entire universe?" Odango asked.

"Sounds like normal business for us," Zero Two said.

"Well, we can't back out of this mission. If we don't get that weapon, we have no chance of stopping the Overlord. So, everyone… wear your best party dress," Max said before Celeste got back into the command chair and we sped towards Altus.

**Philip's perspective**

"Why exactly do I need to do this again?" I asked as Info connected an energy cord to some kind of jetpack. Me and her were busy with one of her pet projects, which was a large skeletal monster with armor plating on its shoulders which housed two large missile launchers on top.

"This is the next step in increasing the power of the Overlord's Infernite army: technological enhancement. The energy cord you have contains a special kind of electricity that recharges whenever this Infernite isn't flying. The energy also powers the missile launchers which fires missiles that seek out and destroy their target. At least 50 of these would be a formidable force that could level a small city," Info replied as the creature's armor slowly hummed to life.

"Sounds… pretty boring," I said. Right as Info disconnected the power cable from the creature's jetpack, the Overload and Yoon entered the room, completely silent as they entered.

"How goes your progress, Info?" the Overlord asked as Info placed some kind of neural transmitter on the creature's skull.

"It's progressing well, my lord. We are now about to test the neural-link helmet for the Revenant. Philip, please turn the Revenant's head slightly to each side," Info said. I did as she asked and turned the Revenant's head slightly to the right and slightly to the left, making the rocket launchers move in the direction that the creature's eyes were pointing while the Overlord looked on with interest.

"Very intriguing. I am quite pleased with your progress, Info."

"I'm glad that you think so, my lord. I still have to run a few more tests before we'll be able to put it into action, but be assured, we're closer than we were before."

"That is good to hear," the Overlord said approvingly before the door opened again and a group of armored figures appeared and saluted him.

"My lord, we are ready to deploy on your command, swift as the darkness," one of the figures said.

"You may go. Remember, leave none of his team alive except for him and the girl. Do not fail me," the Overlord said before the figures saluted him again and then left, leaving the rest of us completely confused.

"My lord, who were those soldiers and where are they going?" Yoon asked.

"They are what remains of Taarkin's special army, except they have now been given new purpose. And they are heading to Altus to find something for me."

"And what, pray tell, might that be?" I asked scornfully. The Overlord just looked back at me, his red eyes glowing intensely.

"The only thing that can destroy the Crucible," he replied.

**Max's perspective**

To be completely honest, I haven't gone to a casino in a long time. The only time me and Nikki ever went to one was when Aiko Yumi invited us to spend a night at Gold Falls Casino. It went about as well as you might expect when you usually enter a casino. Aiko blew most of her money and we spent a few hours trying to help her get it back. It wasn't exactly a fun way to spend our evening, but there are probably worse ways to spend it. As these thoughts were running through my head, both me and Hiro were in the dressing room getting our tuxedos on, complete with some nice shoes and some cute little bowties. But we weren't completely unprepared. Beneath my sleeves were the gauntlets of my armor, with my arm blade being stored in my left gauntlet and Hiro had his battle suit underneath his tuxedo while his gauntlets were merely armbands at the moment. But, if danger were to arise while we were in there, we would be ready. As we were finishing up, Nikki entered the room wearing a vivid blue dress with a sash belt around her waist and a gold bracelet around her right wrist and she was holding a blue clutch purse.

"Well, don't you two look sharp," she said just as I turned to face her.

"And you look beautiful," I replied, kissing her on the cheek. Zero Two wasn't far behind her and she was wearing a similar dress, except it was red and it had an exposed back and she had an armlet on her left arm. She stood in the doorway with her hand on her hip and a smile on her face as she stared at Hiro.

"What do you think, Darling? Does this meet your expectations?" she asked. Hiro just blushed bright red and covered his face in embarrassment.

"Y-yeah. You could say that, I guess," he said.

"So, is everybody prepared?" I asked.

"I know I am!" Nikki replied pointing to her sash belt, which had her armor disc on the buckle and Zero Two moved her skirt to the side to reveal her pistols on both of her legs and her electrostaff on her lower left leg. Before I could say anything, Celeste's voice came over the loudspeaker, which got our attention.

"All crew members: We are about to exit hyperspace and arrive at Altus. Please report to the bridge for mission deployment," she said. We all immediately headed back up to the bridge just as we exited hyperspace and stopped int front of a planet that literally looked like it was completely made of metal, with not a single ocean or forest in sight. The only thing that could be seen were the numerous bright lights that could be seen from the Centurion. It looked a bit like New York City, only bigger and without a touch of green land anywhere. Surrounding the planet were a bunch of towers that had ships parked around them.

"There it is. The planet of Altus," Celeste said. She was in the commander's chair trying to find a place where we could land, and she was wearing a shining silver dress with matching armbands and earrings.

"It looks hideous…" Zero Two said.

"Yeah, it's not for everyone," Amki replied. She was wearing a jet-black dress with jewelry on all of her arms except for her upper right one, which had a spiked band on it instead. As we stared in awe at the planet, Eva and Rhonda walked into the room wearing their fancy dresses. Eva's dress was similar to Nikki's except it was green and it didn't have a sash belt on it, and she had a gold armlet on her right arm and a green bracelet on her left wrist. Rhonda's dress was a smooth magenta with a fur boa wrapped around her shoulders and a cow pattern belt wrapped around her waist.

"When exactly are we landin'? These heels are killin' me," Rhonda said.

"We're not exactly landing. We're just docking at one of the parking clamps and we'll be teleporting down to the casino," Celeste said as she positioned the Centurion in front of one of said clamps before it grabbed onto the ship and Celeste shut off the engines.

"Why exactly are there parking clamps out here?" Nikki asked.

"If someone were to park their ship on the surface, it's liable to get stolen," Celeste replied.

"So, what is the plan, Celeste?" Eva asked.

"Once we teleport down to the casino's entrance, we'll split into groups of three and try to investigate anything that looks suspicious. If one group finds a way to get to the catacombs, they'll radio the rest of us, and we'll converge on the location. Remember to watch your backs and look out for anyone who may be associated with the Overlord. And try not to get intoxicated. Focus is crucial to our mission. Odango, Eila, Goo, Selene, and Ayano will stay with the ship until we reach the catacombs, where we'll set up a transmitter which help them teleport in. Any questions?"

"Yeah, I have one. If there are only 8 of us going down there, how exactly are we splitting into teams of three?" Nikki asked. As if on cue, Rhea entered the command bridge wearing a lavender-colored dress with a waterdrop necklace around her neck. She seemed a bit embarrassed to wearing a dress like that.

"Rhea insisted on going into the casino with us instead of just staying up here. Plus, her magic can provide a distraction in case if things go sideways," Celeste stated.

"Well, can't argue with that logic," Amki said.

"But what about me? You can trust me, right?" Ayano said with a slightly sadistic smile.

"I don't trust you being around other people AT ALL. So, no. I don't think you should go down there with us," I replied sternly.

"If there aren't any more questions, I believe it's time that we head down. Remember, keep your comms open and keep a sharp eye out," Celeste said before we went to the teleporter room and we beamed down to the planet.

**3rd person perspective**

The first thing that greeted the heroes as they materialized in front of the casino was a bunch of bright lights that nearly blinded them all. When their eyes finally adjusted, they found themselves on the sidewalk in front of said casino, where the entire street was lit up like Christmas on Earth. Even though most of the team could handle the bright lights, Celeste fumbled through her pockets until she found a pair of sunglasses that she immediately put on. Even though she had gotten used to being out periodically during the day, the bright lights on the street hurt her eyes.

"Celeste, are you OK?" Max asked, kneeling down to help her.

"I'm fine. Let's head in," Celeste replied as she stood up. The team then walked through the entrance of the casino and were greeted by the loud music coming through the various speakers along the wall and the laughter and commotion of the crowd inside. The whole scene inside was completely chaotic with some of the guests dancing wildly on the dance floor or gambling their money at the game tables while others were getting high from smoking out of glass bongs or getting drunk at the bar from the drinks being sold. There were also a few strippers that were seducing some of the guys and taking them to their private rooms. Everything was a bit dizzying for the heroes, but they knew that they had to press forward and find what they were looking for. The team split up into groups of three with Max, Hiro, and Amki in one group, Celeste, Rhonda, and Eva in the second group, and Nikki, Zero Two, and Rhea in the third group. Celeste's group took up position at a craps table while Nikki's group sat down at the bar and Max's group made their way through the crowd to try and get to the other side of the bar.

"You weren't kidding when you said this place was extremely lively, Celeste," Zero Two said as she looked back out at the crowd around her group.

"Remember to keep a lookout. See if you can spot anything that looks suspicious or get information from anyone," Celeste said as she pretended to watch the craps game.

"Excuse me miss? Have you seen anything recently that looked like something magical? Like it's associated with arcane magic?" Rhea asked the barkeeper. The barkeeper was a green-skinned, two-headed female alien with four arms wearing a blue tank top, which had a hole that revealed her cleavage, paired with short shorts that looked a bit rugged.

"Arcane magic? Can't say that I've seen anything like that. But I do have something here that I'd consider 'magical'," one of the barkeeper's heads said before she slid three drinks in front of the three ladies. The drinks were a strange kind of rainbow liquid that looked a bit fizzy like a soda.

"What's this?" Zero Two asked, picking up the drink.

"It's good," the barkeeper's other head replied before she turned around to serve some more customers.

"Sure didn't answer my question…" Zero Two said before she took a drink of the liquid. Meanwhile, Max, Hiro, and Amki were busy trying to find their way through the crowd until they were stopped by a waitress who was serving small pink flowers to some of the guests.

"Are you enjoying your stay? Try a Venus flower, they are SO delicious!" the waitress said, giving both Max and Hiro a flower before she took off to serve even more guests. Both Max and Hiro were completely confused by the situation and Max just looked at the flower in contemplation.

"Celeste, do you know what a Venus flower is?" Max asked Celeste through his comms.

"The Venus flower? It's an edible flower that releases a powerful aphrodisiac which makes the consumer more sensitive to even the slightest touch. It's apparently a delicacy in brothels. I would highly advise against eating it, but I would also advise that you hold onto it for now," Celeste replied. Max stuck his Venus flower in his pocket while Hiro secretly disposed of his. But, before they could continue moving forward, a drunken guest bumped into Amki and accidentally spilled his drink all over her dress. But when the guest went to apologize, he looked at Amki's entire figure before looking up at her and giving her a goofy smile.

"Whoa, now… Someone get me a glass 'cause I just found a tall drink of water here…" the guest drunkenly said. Amki just scoffed at him but she tried her best to keep her cool.

"Hey, have you seen anything that looks really suspicious around here? Like it seems out of place?" Amki asked. But the drunken guest started to feel up on Amki's legs and butt without even asking her.

"Wow… You have amazing legs. Tell me, what time do they o-," the guest started to say. But by the time he was about to finish his sentence, Amki punched the guest backwards into one of the game tables, drawing a bit of alarm from those playing. But the rest of the crowd just continued on with their normal business, not even paying attention to the guest who was in an extreme amount of pain. Amki, on the other hand, cleared her throat and straightened herself out as Max and Hiro gave her looks of disapproval.

"Sorry. Someone just had to set him straight."

"Split up. We might get more information if we ask multiple people at once," Max said. Both Hiro and Amki nodded and they all went separate ways, trying to find out what they could. Max worked his way through the crowd until he finally got to the opposite side of the bar where Nikki's group was sitting.

"Found nothin' at the blackjack table. Anyone else learn anything?" Rhonda said.

"There was one patron who said that there was a spot where he could sometimes hear voices coming from the walls, but he was too drunk to tell me exactly where it was," Eva said.

"I was gonna ask the barkeeper what she knows, but all she knows is how to serve drinks apparently…" Zero Two said, her speech slurring a bit.

"PLEASE tell me you didn't have any of the drinks," Celeste said.

"They're passing out FREE DRINKS. That's extremely hard to pass up! Plus, I'm thirsty!"

"Zero Two, I understand that you're thirsty, but those drinks can dull the senses and make you see double. We need to be focused right now, OK?" Max asked.

"Who are you talking to?" a voice from behind him asked. Max turned to see a buxom blue-skinned female alien walking up to him. She had black hair and yellow eyes and was wearing hot pink leather jacket and shorts with matching stilettos. Her lips were slathered in pink lipstick and her eyelids were covered in gold eyeshadow.

"Oh, uh, it's just work stuff," Max said in embarrassment, facing the alien. But she just gave him a sultry smile and got really close to him. Out of the corner of his eye, Max could see that Nikki was watching them and she had an angry look on her face.

"Didn't you hear? This whole place is a work-free zone. It's all fun and games here, sweetheart," the female alien said before she pressed her chest up against his chest.

"I mean, I only came here because my friends asked me to come here, but I got this huge project that I working on and we're kinda nearing our deadline, so I had to ask my secretary to help me out with it," Max said. The female alien just gave him another smile and put her hands on his shoulders.

"So, that's why you're so tense. Well, how about this? Why don't you come with me to my chambers and I'll help relieve some of that tension? My treat," she said. Max didn't know how to respond, but, in his ear, he could hear Nikki trying to give him advice.

"Say no. That woman's probably a gold digger or something! Tell her no and get out of there!" Nikki said in his ear. Max pondered over whether he should turn the female alien down or not, but he felt that maybe she knew where the catacombs were, so he offered the female alien his arm.

"Well, since you asked so nicely, I don't see how I can refuse that offer," Max said. The female alien smiled and took his arm, leading him toward where the brothel was.

"MAX! What are you doing?! I swear to God if you so much as…" Nikki started to say.

"Nikki. Stand down. He might be on to something," Celeste said, interrupting her. Out of the corner of his eye, Max saw Celeste leaving her post so she could follow him. As Max was being led to the brothel, he noticed that there were a fair number of male aliens that looked more good-looking than he did which made him a bit suspicious. But he also noticed a tattoo on the back of the female alien's neck which was a bit small, but its shape was unmistakable. Before long, both Max and the female alien had reached the brothel and stepped into the first room on the left. The room was illuminated by colorful pink lights and had a soft bed against the back wall, along with a couch which stretched across the right wall with a table that had a glass bong and several different drugs on top next to it. While Max was distracted by the welcoming setting, two more female aliens emerged from the dark and grabbed both of his arms, making Max jump a bit from the sudden surprise. Both of the aliens looked like the first one, but the one on his left was wearing red lingerie and the one on his right was wearing green lingerie.

"Why, hello there, big boy. How are you today?" the female on the left asked before the two aliens led him over to the couch and sat him down. As Max was getting comfy, the female alien on his right began to dig through his pockets until she pulled out the Venus flower that he was saving.

"Oh, look, Persephone. He saved a little Venus flower for us," the alien on the right said before she tossed it to the lead alien, who was beginning to slip out of her leather jacket and shorts, revealing the pink lingerie that she was wearing.

"Forgive me. I don't like going out into the crowds wearing nothing but my lingerie. And my sisters can be a bit handsy sometimes. But, let's be honest… you're not here to try and relax, are you? You're looking for something," Persephone said as she stuck a needle inside of the Venus flower and extracted some kind of pink liquid before she flicked it to get rid of any air bubbles. Max began to feel a sudden sense of unease, but he did his best to keep his composure and remain focused.

"OK, yeah, you got me. I heard that there was something of interest inside of this casino. Like… something that was buried underneath this casino. Perhaps you know something about that?" Max asked as Persephone began to walk towards him with the needle in her hand.

"I've heard only legends, but I can't confirm that they were ever true."

"Oh, really? Did the Overlord tell you to say that?" Max asked with a smug smile. Persephone's smile suddenly vanished, and her eyes went wide with fear before she lunged forward and tried to stab Max with the needle. But Max, having anticipated that she would attack, managed to dodge her attack and then threw one of her sisters at her, which knocked them to the ground while the needle rolled underneath the table. The second sister grabbed a small knife from the side of the couch and began to wildly swing it at Max, trying to at least slash him in the throat, but he drew his arm blade and easily destroyed the knife before he grabbed the glass bong and smashed it over the sister's head, knocking her out. Max barely had time to relax before Persephone got back up and tried in vain to get him on the ground, but Max was quick to respond to her assault and he countered each of her attacks before he grabbed the sheet of the bed and tightened it into a rope. Right as Persephone swung her fist, Max used the sheet to grab her arm and reel her in so he could put her in a chokehold.

"Stand down! I have no wish to hurt you!" Max said as he restrained Persephone. But as he was trying to hold her, he put himself in a precarious position and Persephone was able to escape by kicking him in the crotch. But her escape was short-lived because as Max was recovering from her attack, an energy bola flew pass Max and wrapped itself around Persephone, pinning her to the chair. Max looked behind him to see Celeste standing there at the door with her hand on her hip.

"Are you OK?" she asked before the first sister attacked and Celeste knocked her unconscious with a nerve pinch.

"I'm fine…" Max said weakly as he held his crotch in pain.

"How did you know that she was working with the Overlord?"

"The tattoo on the back of her neck. It was pretty much a dead giveaway," Max said as Celeste walked up to Persephone and looked her straight in the eye.

"So, the Overlord sends prostitutes to assassinate us? I expected him to send someone more civilized, but I am surprised that he chose you and your sisters for this kind of task," Celeste said rather harshly.

"Do not belittle me, Tendricite! Me and my sisters may not seem like much, but what we do is crucial for the Overlord's success! You can't save the universe from its judgement…" Persephone retorted.

"Enough of your prattle. Where is the entrance to the catacombs beneath this casino?"

"What exactly makes you think that I'll tell you?"

"We didn't expect that you would tell us that easily," Max said before he grabbed the syringe from earlier, flicked it a bit and then stuck it in Persephone's arm, injecting the pink liquid into her bloodstream.

"What are you doing?" Celeste asked.

"She thinks that we can't make her talk. Well, we'll see how long holds out with her sensitivity dialed up to 11."

"You actually think that you can break me? I have an indomitable will and an equally strong body. You'll get nothing from me," Persephone said with a smug grin on her face. But when Max walked up to her and gently ran his finger down the nape of her neck, Persephone's entire body shuddered, and she let out a loud moan, her blue skin beginning to glisten with sweat.

"Dude, you're not doing what I think you're doing, are you?" Amki asked over the comms.

"Get yer mind out of the gutter, Amki," Rhonda replied.

"How about we start with why you're here? Why did the Overlord send you here to kill us?" Max asked, kneeling down in front of Persephone. When she didn't answer, Max ran his finger across her cheek, which drew another moan from her.

"He didn't… send us here. My sisters and I have been here… ever since the empire fell. He gave us the task… of stopping those who came in search of the Council of Light's weapon. He promised that… if he completed his mission… we would be rid of this place forever," Persephone said as Max moved his finger down to shoulders and moved it across her chest.

"If he already knew where the weapon was, why didn't he just destroy it?" Celeste asked.

"The entrance to the chamber itself is covered in rocks… but it's also covered in some kind of magic that seems almost impenetrable. Not even the strongest of alien species could move the rocks at the entrance," Persephone replied.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Where's the entrance to the catacombs?" Max asked. When Persephone refused to answer, Max put both of his hands on her waist and gently stroked her belly with his thumbs. He really didn't want to have to go this far, but at this point, there was no reason to stop. The intense feeling of Max running his fingers all over her made Persephone's eyes water and her mouth began to drool. She could no longer take the intense pleasure and she was now hanging on by a thread.

"It's in the maintenance room in the west wing of the casino… the entrance leads to the sewers and the second opening on the left is the entrance to the catacombs themselves. That's all that I know," Persephone finally said.

"Did everyone get that?" Max asked as he released his grip on her.

"Yep. West wing, second opening on the left. We're on our way there now," Amki replied over the comms.

"Understood. We're on our way as well… Thank you… for your cooperation," Celeste said to Persephone. But right as she and Max were about to leave, Persephone raised her leg as if she wanted to stop him.

"Please… this feeling… I must find a way to try and quench it. Perhaps… you could indulge me?" Persephone asked with puppy-like eyes and a slight smile. Both Max and Celeste just looked at her with disapproving eyes.

"Maybe I would… but you and your sisters tried to kill me. I think that it's only fair that you be punished for what you tried to do," Max said.

"Better yet, we should bring her with us. Just in case if she's lying…" Celeste suggested. Max just nodded in silence before he untied her and then ushered her out the door. Meanwhile, Nikki was listening to the whole conversation through the comms and she was feeling a bit suspicious of what had gone down earlier. But while she was deep in thought and trying to figure out what had gone on, she didn't realize that Rhea was trying to get her attention.

"Nicole! We need to leave and rendezvous with the others now!" she said, bringing Nikki back to reality.

"Sorry, I was… somewhere else. Zero Two, let's get going," Nikki replied.

"Go where?" Zero Two asked, her speech even more slurred than before.

"What do you mean 'go where'? We need to find the weapon that can destroy the Crucible!"

"Do you know the last time that me and Darling were able to frickin' relax? I swear, it's been work, work, work, and, oh, I don't know, MORE WORK? You guys could do with chillin' out a bit, OK?"

"Are you drunk?!"

"No?... Maybeh?" Zero Two replied as Nikki looked over and saw that there were three empty glasses right next to her arm, all of them face-down on the bar.

"Did you seriously have more than one of those drinks?!" Nikki yelled.

"They're FREE DRINKS! How could you NOT want more?! In fact, Barkeep, can we get some more of those rainbow drinks over here?" Zero Two asked, waving at the bartender. But right as she was busy making the drinks, Nikki grabbed Zero Two by the wrist and led her away from the bar with Rhea following closely behind.

"You don't need any more drinks! We need to go NOW!" Nikki said. Zero Two tried to get free of her grasp for the first few seconds, but she then rested on Nikki's back and let her carry her all the way to the west wing of the casino. Meanwhile, Amki, Hiro, Rhonda, and Eva were already at the west wing's maintenance room and were busy looking for anything that looked suspicious when Max and Celeste entered the room with Persephone in tow.

"What is SHE doing here?" Eva asked.

"We thought that it would only be logical to bring her along in case she was lying," Celeste replied just as Amki opened a moderate-sized hatch in the right corner of the room.

"Well, looks like her story actually holds up. You sure that we still need her?" Amki asked.

"We'll take her as far as the catacombs if we can. Plus, we can't risk her telling the Overlord's forces about where we're going," Max replied. As he went to inspect the hatch, Nikki entered the room with Zero Two on her back and Rhea following behind them.

"What happened?" Hiro asked.

"I'll tell ya what happened! There was a whole drink and dance party goin' on out there and this girl carrying me right here said that I couldn't dance even though I was invited! But it wasn't that bad because I still got some drinks, so I really can't hate mai girl here," Zero Two said as she hugged Nikki.

"Uh, what wrong with her?"

"She got drunk off of some kind of liquid and that's why she's acting like this," Nikki replied. Celeste immediately pulled out a breathalyzer and stuck its nozzle into Zero Two's mouth. Strangely, when Zero Two blew into the nozzle and Celeste checked the counter, it read as zero.

"What exactly did this drink look like?" Celeste asked.

"It looked like a rainbow-colored liquid. Why? Is that bad?"

"In a certain way. That kind of drink is meant for first time drinkers and, despite being non-alcoholic, it puts the consumer in a drunken state so they can experience what it feels like to actually be drunk."

"And how long will she stay like this?" Hiro asked as Zero Two began to mess around with his hair.

"It depends. One drink can leave a consumer in a drunken state for about 30 minutes to an hour. How many did drinks did she have?" Celeste asked.

"She had three drinks," Rhea replied.

"Well, I'd say that she'll sober up in about an hour or two, but based on other experiences that other drinkers had, I don't think that she'll have any other side effects. Still, we should keep our eye on her and make sure that she doesn't do anything reckless."

"Hey, I have a question. Why's your hair blue? Were you like an ocean at one point in your life?" Zero Two asked Nikki.

"What?" she replied.

"The ocean's blue… and your hair is blue. So… we're you an ocean once?!"

"My hair isn't naturally blue! It used to be brown before I dyed it like this!"

"Look, can we worry about this later? We still have a job to do!" Max called from the hatch.

"Agreed. We still have a job to do. Let's get going," Celeste replied before Hiro let Zero Two ride his back and they all went down the hatch to the sewers below.

**Nikki's perspective**

The first thing that I expected to see when we first entered the sewers was a whole river of disgusting junk and god-knows-what-else that was flowing in any direction and I also expected that we would have to wade through it just to get where we were going. But, much to me and everyone else's surprise, the sewers were surprisingly clean with a clean stream of water running through the entire thing.

"Well, this looks surprisingly clean…" Rhonda said as we began to walk down the dark path.

"There aren't exactly that many restrooms in the casino. Plus, not many alien species can…" Eva started to explain.

"Yeah, Eva, we know! You don't need to give us the graphic details!" Amki interrupted. While the two of them began to bicker, I just continued to walk in complete silence while trying to keep my eyes on Persephone, just to make sure that she didn't pull a fast one on any of us.

"Nikki, are you all right?" Celeste asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?" I replied.

"It's just that you're more quiet than usual and you have an angry look on your face."

"I'm just upset that we had to bring that HOOKER with us… and I really hate that you had him actually TOUCH HER just to get information from her."

"It was his idea, Nikki. The Venus flower's aphrodisiac was the only available to use on her and we couldn't risk her staying behind to warn the Overlord's forces. But I can assure you, he had absolutely no intentions of cheating on you. If he had taken it further, either me or him would've stopped it. Besides, I think that he was also uncomfortable with what he had to do earlier."

"Yeah? How could you tell?"

"He was sweating like he was embarrassed to be doing it. Look, bottom line: if it bothers you that much, you need to talk with him about it. Although… I would suggest that you talk about it later since we're in the middle of a mission at the moment," Celeste said. I just sighed and rubbed my head in distress before I breathed in and out.

"…OK. I'll talk with him," I said as we continued through the sewers. Before long, we reached the second intersection and turned left as Persephone had explained, which led directly to the catacombs. The passageways were big enough for all of us to make our way down until we finally entered a large open cavern with stone structures and wall engravings lining the caves, a pedestal in the middle that had a large crystal on it, and crystals on the ceiling that were illuminating the cave. But the thing that got everyone's attention was a rock-fall that looked a bit out of place for the entire cave. As we began to inspect the cave and everything that laid within, Celeste set up a teleporter which beamed Selene, Odango, Ayano, Eila, and Goo into the cave.

"Thank goodness. You have no idea how hard it was to keep Eila and Goo entertained while you were gone. I had to try and keep them from pressing something that would've destroyed something," Selene said as she stretched her arms a bit.

"I'm sorry that we had to keep you waiting," Celeste replied.

"It's no problem. So, uh, did you find what we came here for?" Odango asked.

"Not just yet, but I have a feeling that it's behind that rock-fall," Rhea said, pointing to the rocks. Amki just pushed them aside and cracked her knuckles with a confident look on her face.

"All right then, everyone. Stand back and let a true muscle woman get to work," Amki said, stepping up to the rock-fall. But, after she spit into her hands and clenched her fists, a sudden burst of magic exploded her face and sent her flying back right as she punched the rocks. The explosion was so violent that the wall that she crashed into had an imprint of her body.

"You OK?" Max asked before Amki came crashing to the ground, landing flat on her face.

"No… I'm not OK…" she answered, her voice muffled from being face down on the floor.

"Can I try next? I wanna fly like she did!" Zero Two said.

"No, you don't want to go flying!" Hiro replied in alarm.

"You see? That's what happens whenever someone tries to destroy or move the rocks. It's guarded by some kind of dark magic. I don't know how that magic got there or how to get around it," Persephone said.

"Perhaps brute strength isn't the method that we should use here," Rhea replied before her eyes began to glow and her staff lit up, the rocks becoming surrounded in her magic. Before long, on began to levitate, followed by another, and then another, until the entire rock-fall was levitating in the air, uncovering a large door with five statues above it, which all had markings on them. Two of them were a bit broken, but it was clear that they were the members of the Council of Light. Rhea then used her magic to set all of the rocks along the walls, but she made sure that they were all out of the way for us.

"Impressive. How come you never used that sort of magic before?" Selene asked. But the answer became clear when Rhea collapsed to the ground in exhaustion and then struggled to get back to her feet.

"Sorry… if I use that kind of magic for too long, it feels like I have lost all of my strength," Rhea said as Celeste and Eva helped her get back to her feet.

"Well, that takes care of one problem. Now, how exactly do we open the door?" Max asked.

"I'll let you guys try and figure that out. I just need to sit down and let the pain dull a bit before I can help out again," Amki replied as she sat down at the base of the pedestal while holding her arm in pain. I walked up to one of the statues and began to inspect it, looking for anything that looked like it was out of the ordinary. Max must've had the same idea because he also began to search for anything that looked strange. After about a minute of searching, I noticed a large, noncolored circular gem at the base of one of the statues. Below the gem was some kind of plaque with alien writing on it.

"Celeste? Rhea? Could you come take a look at this? There's something weird about this statue," I asked. Rhea came over first and slowly dusted off the lectern to read it while Celeste took a closer look at the gem.

"This looks like a Lumin gem. These gems are often used like batteries that are charged by a special beam of light, sometimes of a certain color. If there's one here, the light source that powers it might not be far," Celeste said.

"And what about the plaque?"

"The language is definitely Obraxian, but what it says is rather cryptic. It says, 'I am sorrowful, but also calming and full of life. Even in the darkest of times, my hope burns bright. What am I?'" Rhea replied.

"That definitely sounds like a riddle of some kind. Anyone have any ideas on what the answer is?" Max asked. Before any of us could answer, we all heard a commotion coming from the pedestal behind us, where Zero Two was holding a blue crystal in her hands and pointing it at all of us as Hiro was trying to calm her down.

"Zero Two, could you please put that crystal back where you found it? That thing's probably cursed or something!" Hiro said.

"No way! This is my crystal! And I'm a god! BOW TO ME MORTALS!" Zero Two yelled, holding the crystal above her head. I just sighed and rolled my eyes as Zero Two continued to rant and dance in her drunken state. But, as she was dancing around the pedestal with the crystal in her hands, she stepped on a brick which sunk into the floor and made a white beam of shoot down from the ceiling and strike the crystal, dividing the beam into five beams of white light that hit the walls next to each of the statues. Zero Two dropped the blue crystal, which landed in the path of one of the beams, turning it blue for a few seconds before she grabbed the crystal back. And then it hit me.

"Wait a minute… this whole thing is a color puzzle!" I said.

"How so?" Selene asked.

"Well, Celeste, you said that those Lumin gems sometimes take a certain color in order to power something. And that riddle sounds like it's describing the color blue," I explained.

"It's true. Blue represents sadness, but it also represents joy and hope," Rhea said.

"And it also stands for the ocean. The ocean is full of life," Max added.

"So, if we put that crystal on the pedestal and redirect the beam of light towards this gem, it might power it and help open the door," I said.

"That's true, but there are five statues with five Lumin gems beneath each statue. And each of these plaques might have a riddle for a different color," Celeste stated.

"It's worth a shot. So how about we see if at least one works," Max said before he walked up to the pedestal and tried to take the blue crystal from Zero Two. But she hugged the crystal even tighter and tried to keep it away from him.

"No! This is MY PRECIOUS! You can't have it!" Zero Two drunkenly yelled, baring her teeth at Max.

"For God's sake, Zero Two, would you just give him the damn crystal?!" Hiro replied. But Max just held his hand out at Hiro to signal him to calm down before he turned back to Zero Two.

"Zero Two, I just want to take a quick look at it. I promise that I'll give it back," he said. Zero Two gave him a pout, but she gave him the crystal and he set it on the pedestal before he redirected the beam of light into the gem under the statue we were at. As we suspected, when the blue light hit the gem, the statue's markings glowed a bright blue and a water symbol lit up above the door.

"Well, it seems like you two were right. That crystal must be one of the keys to getting in," Eva said as she stared at the statue in awe.

"Zero Two, where did you find this crystal?" Max asked.

"I dunno," Zero Two replied, her speech a bit slurred again.

"You didn't… find it just lying on the ground somewhere in here?"

"I dunno."

"Doesn't matter. I've found three more," Amki replied as she walked over while holding a red crystal, a green crystal, and a yellow crystal in each of her hands.

"And we've found three more right here," Rhonda added as she and Ayano carried a purple crystal, an orange crystal, and a black crystal over to the pedestal.

"Rhea, can you take a look at the next plaque and read the next riddle for us?" Max asked. Rhea complied and went over to the statue to the left of the one that we just activated, dusting off the plaque so she could read it.

"'Fear may try to take hold, but my joy, happiness, and energy will help me to remain bold. What am I?'" Rhea said.

"Wait… fear and happiness? Those things are represented by the color yellow!" I said. Max immediately grabbed the yellow crystal and placed in the path of one of the other beams of white light before he redirected the beam to hit the gem underneath the statue, which caused the markings on the statue to turn yellow and made an air symbol appear above the door.

"That's two down. What's the next one?" Amki asked, prompting Rhea to run over to the statue on the far right and read the next plaque.

"'My mixture of calm stability and fierce energy truly define me, but even my magic remains a mystery. What am I?'" she said. That riddle left us all completely confused.

"Oh… that's a tricky one. Anyone have any ideas on what the answer is?" Max asked. Ayano silently held up the black crystal as if to answer, but Max just gave her an unamused look and she backed down with a less sadistic and more innocent smile.

"Hmm. Well, calm stability and fierce energy must refer to the colors blue and red… and when mixed, they form purple. And purple often represents magic and mystery. Perhaps that's the answer?" Celeste suggested. Max just nodded and took the purple crystal from Rhonda before he placed in front of another white beam and redirected it at the third gem. Sure enough, the statue's markings began to glow purple and a spirit symbol appeared above the door.

"Looks like you were right. What's next?" Rhonda asked. Rhea responded by walked to the next statue and read the next plaque.

"'My willpower is as strong as nature, but my harmony and safety are also what make me pure. What am I?'" Rhea said.

"Green. The nature bit gave it away," Amki replied. Max took the green crystal from her and placed it in front of the fourth beam of light before he aimed it at the next gem and the statue's markings lit up. After an earth symbol appeared above the door, a fifth plaque slowly rose out of the ground just a few feet from the door and Rhea walked over to it to read it.

"'The fires of rage encircle me and danger stalks me at night, but my strength, my power, and my determination are what will help me set things right. What am I?" Rhea said. None of us answered as we all knew exactly what the answer was. Max picked up the red crystal and aimed the final beam at the final gem, which made the middle statue's markings glow and made a fire symbol appear above the door. Without any warning, the entire cave began to slowly rumble as the door began to finally open, revealing nothing but darkness inside. Max came down from the pedestal and walked up to the doorway, staring into the pitch-black room as if he was confused by what laid before us. But when I went over to try and help him, I collided with some kind of invisible wall and fell to the ground in pain. As I was recovering from the sudden pain, Amki picked up a small rock from the ground and threw it in the direction of the room, only for the rock to hit nothing and land next to Max's feet. But when Celeste came up to where I was, she reached her hand forward and touched the invisible wall.

"Seriously? Forcefields? How come he gets access and the rest of us get bounced?" Amki asked.

"Perhaps only one person is allowed to enter the chamber," Rhea replied. Max continued to stare into the darkness for a few more seconds before he looked back at us.

"I have to go in. We've come too far just to stop here," Max said before he prepared to go in.

"Max… be careful…" I said as he went into the room and the door closed behind him.

**Max's perspective**

Everything was dark that I couldn't see even an inch in front of me. I was literally stuck walking in the dark for several minutes and I had no idea where anything was. But I just kept walking forward from where I had entered with my hand out in front of me and hoped that I would finally touch something that would have some kind of importance. But, as I continued to walk forward, a blue flame suddenly lit up to the right of me, followed by another on the left, followed by several more on either side until the entire room was illuminated by the fires, revealing six thrones arranged in a circular pattern around what looked like a larger and more ancient version of Celeste's holo table that had some kind of switch at the front. This had to be it. This had to be what we were looking for. But when I took a step forward, my foot touched something that made a loud clattering sound that almost sounded like… bones. Sure enough, I looked down and saw the skeletons of four different individuals lying on the ground in front of me, all decayed and sprawled out in death poses with the stone floor showing signs of some kind of fight that had occurred. But as I was looking down at the bodies, I suddenly felt a cold shiver run down my spine and heard a ghastly whisper coming from out of nowhere.

"Why are you here?" it asked. I had absolutely no idea where the whispers were coming from or why I was suddenly getting chills, but I didn't let that deter me from the mission at hand, so I kept moving forward towards the thrones to try and find anything that would at least show me where the weapon was. As I got closer, I noticed that there was a stone coffin with glowing runes all around it sitting behind on of the thrones, but I also noticed that the switch that was sitting in front of the holo table was also glowing. I didn't really know what I had to do first but I had seen way too many treasure hunting movies to know that simply going for the coffin would probably activate some kind of trap that would more than likely end with me dying a horrible death, so I decided to activate the switch first. After I had pushed the button in, the pillar it was sitting on sank into the ground and a burst of blue light suddenly blinded me. When I was able to see again, the thrones now had the members of the Council of Light sitting in them as they were looking at the holo table, their faces filled with sadness. But, when I reached out to try and touch one, my hand went directly through them. They were nothing but holograms.

"Aariv, what is it that bothers you?" the female Council member asked. King Aariv was looking down at the holo table, which was showing the hologram of a destroyed city with people rioting in the streets and fires running rampant everywhere.

"I fear that I may have unleashed something on all of Altus. Something destructive," Aariv replied, not taking his eyes off of the holo table.

"Aariv, you had good reason to trust Galaxor. He wished to help us so that we could help the people of Altus find peace without the need for endless violence," the Council member on the far left said.

"You forget, Tempest, the very being that we trusted to help us save the people of Altus was also the same being who has destroyed most of the city with the help of his own unit and now he has nearly destroyed all of the Empire. When this is all over, the people will blame us for this afront!" the Council member on the far right protested. Aariv just held his face in shame and sadness at that statement.

"If they do, Erebus, then we will help them rebuild. If it is by the Council's hands that this evil has come upon the people of Altus, then let it be by the hands of the Council of Light that we set things right," the Council member to the left of Erebus replied.

"Cephas is right. It is up to us to set things right if we're responsible for the evil we create, no matter how long it may take to win the people's trust," the female Council member said.

"That may be harder than we may think. The leaders of this planet may try to persuade the people to spurn our efforts to help them. They've already turned their own weapons against my own people because I urged Galaxor to stop serving them. It could become far more catastrophic if this continues any further," Aariv said.

"That may be true, but Thalassa has a point, Aariv. You brought us all together so that we could protect the universe from the worst of disasters and help those in need wherever they were," Tempest replied. Suddenly, I heard the sound of rumbling behind me and turned back to face the door. Weirdly, the door wasn't open, but I saw the hologram of a familiar-looking robed figure wearing a mask suddenly appear from that direction and he walked up to about where I was before he pulled out the severed head of some kind of alien and threw it at the feet of the Council, drawing shocked and concerned gasps from all of them.

"Galaxor, what have you done?!" Cephas asked.

"Apparently what I should've done from the start. Better yet, what WE should've done from the start. The Empire was a disease and now I have completely eradicated it," Galaxor replied in disgust.

"Galaxor, there is no virtue in any of this! It may be true that their actions were not righteous, but they did not deserve death!" Tempest said.

"They were more than worthy of death! They poisoned our city with their deceit! Enslaved people from this planet and countless others! But I have done Altus a service by ridding this planet of these vermin!"

"And how many more have you condemned?! How many people did you kill just to destroy the Empire?!" Erebus asked in rage.

"You speak to ME of condemning the innocent? You condemn the innocent simply by sitting on your thrones and doing NOTHING. Even if they begged you to help them, you wouldn't do it," Galaxor said scornfully.

"That is both cruel and untrue! We all agreed that we should let all individuals choose their path whether it is for better or worse and we made a vow to help those affected by war and greed to make a better choice, only interfering with disasters of catastrophic proportions! Killing the leaders of Altus just because of your personal grudge against them doesn't justify-!" Thalassa started to say.

"THEY MURDERED MY WIFE!" Galaxor finally said, a hush falling over the entire Council.

"Galaxor… what…" Cephas started to ask.

"My former superiors… they unleashed a pandemic on all of Obraxis. After we were able to kill the soldiers that they sent, me and my unit came here to get the cure. But I could sense that she died not long after we had captured the leaders. The remaining population were barely able to escape before the charges that the Empire's soldiers had set up destroyed the planet. And what did all of you do to help? NOTHING."

"I am truly sorry for your loss, Galaxor. It pains me that my own people have suffered this fate. But you have stepped out of your role as an enforcer of this Council. You have killed many who were not deserving and have started something that will echo across the entire universe. But it isn't too late. Please, turn away from this path. You still have your sons and daughters. What will they think if you turn to the path of evil?" Aariv said in a calm tone as he walked up and put his hand on Galaxor's shoulder. But Galaxor angrily shoved him away in response.

"I served you so that I would finally be free of my superiors and their bloodshed. But you are no better than they were. You refuse to take action against even the simplest of matters all because of your pointless laws. But my eyes have been opened and I now know what I must do. I must destroy our enemies before they destroy us. Erase every trace of rebellion or war. That is what I must do to ensure order throughout the universe," Galaxor said with a low, angry voice. The Council members all had looks of horror on their faces after that speech, safe for Aariv, who just had a look of sadness.

"You dare obstruct our justice?! Do not think that your sacrilege will go unpunished, you-," Erebus started to say before Aariv held out his hand to silence him.

"Galaxor, please. Do not do this. What would your wife think?" Aariv asked. Galaxor just looked down at the floor in silence for a while before, in the blink of an eye, he drew a blade and plunged it into Aariv's chest. The rest of the Council immediately leapt into action and used their various powers to try and take down Galaxor, but he dodged them with ease and then held out his hands which made couple of green beams shoot out and envelop all five of the Council members, making all of them scream and yell in agony. When the green beams stopped projecting and he released the Council from his grasp, Thalassa leapt back into action and tried to stab Galaxor with her trident, only for him to transform his arm into stone, which he used to break the trident before he then tossed her away. Tempest managed to recover and tried to conjure up some lightning to hit Galaxor, but only a few tiny sparks flew out of his hands.

"I knew that you all would react this way. And I won't let any of you stand in the way of my goals. I have lived in your shadow for too long. If it is by bloodshed that the universe can obtain peace, then so be it. Every being will bow to me and every rebel will be crushed," Galaxor said with a demonic voice as metal claws wrapped around his fingers and he carved a familiar face into his mask. The face of the Overlord. As he turned to leave, Aariv grabbed his wrist while still clutching his chest wound.

"You cannot do this. Even if you claim that you want peace, your actions will be viewed as evil. There will be many who will oppose you. Many more will fear you. And when they know of what you did here, they will rise against you," he said.

"I don't plan to kill you, Aariv. You and your entire cult will stay in this tomb for the rest of your days. Long enough to think about your failure. Then again, with all that infinite wisdom of yours, you won't have to think for very long, will you?" the Overlord said before he left and used his powers to bring a large amount of rocks down in front of the door. Cephas immediately ran to the door and tried using his powers to move the rocks, but he was only able to make them nudge a bit.

"My power… he has robbed me of my power…" Cephas said with a concerned voice before the door began to slowly close and he walked back towards the rest of the Council.

"He has robbed us all of our power, Cephas," Thalassa said as she tried to help Aariv.

"But without our power we cannot leave this place! If Galaxor plans to repair the universe the way he wishes, he will no doubt go after the Crucible!" Tempest exclaimed. But Aariv slowly got up and began to walk toward the thrones again, clutching his chest as his blood began to drip onto the floor.

"I'm afraid we can't. He has blocked off the only way that we can get in or out. And he has wounded me too greatly. I'm afraid that my time is almost at its end," he said as he took the cover off of the coffin that sat behind his throne.

"Aariv… what are you saying?" Thalassa asked as the rest of the Council walked up to him while Aariv took out the hilt of a sword.

"My friends… I am responsible for this tragedy that has befallen us. I thought that Galaxor was strong enough to bear the weight of his losses… but I was wrong. And now we have all paid for my mistake," Aariv said.

"Do not say that, Aariv. As Tempest said before, you had good intentions in recruiting him so he could help with our goal of helping others. He was the one who failed you. And none of us ever regret joining you for the sake of the well-being of the universe."

"She is right, Aariv. I know that I have often questioned your methods and have spoken out against some of the decisions that you have made, but you've been like a brother to all of us," Erebus said, earning a smile from Aariv.

"You brought us together when we almost had nothing and you gave us all a purpose that was worth living for," Cephas added.

"I am truly grateful that I have had the honor of knowing all of you. But we must also not give up hope that there will be those who wish to give the universe a fighting chance. There are several who know of what we have done. They will try to send champions to come to find this place. And when they do, they will find the only thing capable of destroying the Crucible…" Aariv said triumphantly before he began to cough up blood and his strength began to fail him. The other Council members helped Aariv back up before he climbed into the coffin and laid down in a knight's burial position with the sword's hilt on his chest.

"Safe travels, Aariv. Perhaps we shall meet again in another lifetime," Thalassa said. Aariv just gave a nod before he slowly closed his eyes and the rest of the Council placed the top of the coffin over him and Erebus started to recite a prayer, which ended the hologram. I was completely speechless by what I had just seen, and I dropped to the ground in shock with my head low. The entire Council of Light were responsible for the creation of the Overlord. And when they refused to help, he robbed of their own power and left them to die. And now they were just a distant memory that very few would ever remember. But, as I was thinking about all of this, the room began to light up with the same bright blue light, which blinded me again, but this time it was just Aariv that was standing in front of me. And it looked like he was looking at… me?

"You now see the tragedy that befell the Council," he said. I was taken aback by the fact that he was looking straight at me that I struggled to find words.

"A-are you talking to me? Like, right now?" I asked in fear.

"In a way. Even though I have died, my spirit remains tethered to this realm. It is how I am able to converse with you right now. And I have been watching you and your friends for some time now. I am quite impressed with the feats that you all have managed to accomplish. All the lives that you have saved. And now your travels have led you here."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why didn't you help him? His family was in danger… but you all did nothing to help him. And he became the monster that's terrorizing this entire universe. I get that you have laws that you follow but… couldn't you have broken the law just to help him?" I asked. Aariv just looked down with a melancholic look as he walked back to his throne.

"For years, the people of Obraxis have constantly been at war with each other. We constantly slaughtered each other in our conquest to be free and establish order. When I became ruler of my planet, I made a law that we would no longer involve ourselves with war, whether it was amongst ourselves or against other species. I have carried that law with me since the day I was given the throne. The other members of the Council of Light shared my beliefs, as did Galaxor when he first joined us. And yet, even with the wisdom that I had acquired so long ago, I didn't even see that there were consequences to my code of conduct. I wanted to help Galaxor. I did. But I was afraid that if I did break my code of conduct, then the leaders of Altus would use that against me and everything that the Council of Light and I had fought for would have been lost. But, even then, the weight of my failure still haunts me to this day," he explained.

"…I… I never knew that. Rhea never told me about what the planet's history was like…"

"She has good reason for not telling anyone about our planet's history. The bloodshed and violence of our ancestors has always been our greatest shame."

"Listen, the Over… Galaxor has the Crucible. We were told that there was a weapon that could destroy it. So, is it here?" I asked. Aariv just looked at me with another sad look before he pointed to the coffin that was sitting behind his throne. I immediately went over to the coffin and prepared to open it, but Aariv grabbed my hand before I could.

"Just answer me this: Why is it that you have come to this place looking for a weapon that is more powerful than the Crucible?" he asked.

"I was the one who pulled the Crucible from the stone on Gaia Prime. I was infected with the energy that would've given him god-like powers. And me and my team are the only ones standing between him and universal domination. I can't just stand by as he destroys everything," I replied. Aariv just stared at me for a little before he took his hand off of mine and I opened the coffin. Sitting inside was the decayed corpse of Aariv, which was still clutching the hilt that I saw in the hologram. The hilt was metal with the grip wrapped in some kind of leather with a circular shape with two spikes on the side of it that made up the cross guard, accompanied by two closed up claw-like parts at the side. In the middle of the circle on the cross guard was a symbol of kind. I gently took the hilt from the corpse and carefully inspected it before the holo table opened up to reveal some kind of lava pool that was strangely blue for some reason. But, when I got close to it, a few sparks flew out of the lava pit and struck the symbol on the hilt, which made it glow and made the two claw-like parts flip down. Instinctively, I dipped the top part of the hilt into the lava for a little while before I slowly took it out, the lava creating a thin blue blade that looked like the blade of a medieval knight's sword except with runes on it. After it had been fully formed, the blade suddenly exploded into flames while some kind of magic began to envelop my arms for a few seconds before it disappeared completely.

"The Peacekeeper… It was this very sword that helped me strike down the undead forces of Nekros. Today, I pass it on to you. But there is one final thing that you must do before you can leave. While the Peacekeeper is quite powerful as it is now, but it still has yet to unlock its full power. To obtain such power, you must free the souls of the other Council members. By freeing them, the Peacekeeper will absorb what remains of their power for you to use," Aariv said. No sooner than 5 seconds after the words left his mouth, the corpses of the other Council members began to rise up from the ground and stare at me with menacing green eyes. The first member, Thalassa, picked up the top part of her destroyed trident and then threw it at me. I used the Peacekeeper to slice the trident in half before I then plunged the sword into Thalassa's chest when she leaped at me. As I took the sword out of her chest, Thalassa's body exploded in a flash of green light before her soul was released which also made a few small streams of water circle the sword's blade before the flames were doused and the water created a sheath of ice. I barely had time to question what had happened before the second Council member, Tempest, grabbed my arm and tried to wrench the Peacekeeper from my grasp. I tried to at least hit him with my fist, but because he was literally made of air, my fist just went through him. Quick-thinking, I got my arm free and stuck the tip of the Peacekeeper into his chest which began to rapidly freeze him until he became an ice sculpture. After I shattered Tempest's decayed body and released his spirit, a gust of wind began to surround the Peacekeeper's blade until it began to supercharge the blade and it became like lightning. The fourth Council member, Cephas, picked up a boulder and threw it at me as if to crush me, but I used the Peacekeeper to slice it clean in half horizontally before, quite literally at lightning speed, I jumped onto the bottom half of the boulder, sprang off, landed behind him and thrusted the sword into the back of his chest. After Cephas' body exploded and his spirit was released, a few rocks from the ground began to surround the blade until it became encrusted with the very ground itself. The last Council member, Erebus, summoned a bunch of spirits from the ground to hold me by the legs as he picked up a rock and infused it with whatever was left of his power. However, the spirits he summoned we're all trying to fight for position as they were trying to hold me, which gave me an opportunity to escape as I stomped on one's head and hit another with the pommel of the Peacekeeper's hilt. After I had gotten free, I slammed the Peacekeeper on the ground which created a small shockwave that made Erebus stumble to the ground. I wasted no time in piercing his decayed heart, which freed him and made a magic green aura surround the Peacekeeper before the blade looked like it was made of souls. As I started to try and catch my breath, the spirits of the rest of the Council of Light began to rub their heads in confusion before they began to take a look at their surroundings.

"Free… at last!" Tempest's spirit said with joy.

"Aariv? Is that you, my friend?" Cephas' spirit asked. Aariv simply outstretched his arm and gave Cephas a forearm handshake with a warm smile.

"I don't understand… Galaxor left our spirits imprisoned in our own bodies after we died. How is that we are free?" Thalassa's spirit asked.

"It is because of him," Aariv said, pointing to me. When the rest of the Council turned theirs heads towards me, I knelt down with the Peacekeeper's blade in the ground. But the Council members just looked at me with confused looks until Erebus stepped forward and inspected my arm. When I looked down at it, I saw a very faint red glow coming from it. It didn't really come as a surprise to me, but Erebus immediately backed away in fear when he saw it.

"He is infected with that cursed energy! Are you sure that we can trust him?" he asked.

"I am. He has proven himself worthy by freeing your souls. And I can see in his heart that he has made peace with his inner demons and he is in complete control."

"Are you certain that he is even up to the task? He is just a human!" Erebus protested. As if to answer, Thalassa walked over to me and signaled for me to stand before she put both of her hands on the sides of my face and closed her eyes. After about a few seconds, her eyes opened again, and a tear slid down her cheek.

"So much pain… so much suffering… And yet, you've somehow been able to bury it deep within you. How is it that you are able to cope?" she asked.

"I have my friends. They've helped me get this far. And we'll all continue to support each other until the end," I said.

"And what makes you so sure that you can defeat the Overlord and his army?" Erebus asked.

"Because I have hope. Me and my friends have fought through hell and high water to try and put an end to the Overlord's evil. As long as I have my friends with me by my side and as long as I have hope in my heart, we WILL prevail against him," I replied. All of the Council members went silent for a brief moment before Aariv gave me a smile. He actually looked… happy. The rest of the Council members also looked content with my answer.

"Then you have not a second more to lose. Go back to your friends. Go forth in the name of the Council of Light and see to it that the Overlord sees the error of his ways," Aariv said. Before I left, Tempest put his left hand on my shoulder and put his right arm over his chest in a gesture of respect.

"You have our gratitude, brother. May the light show you the path to victory," he said. I gave him the same salute before I turned to leave.

"There is one more thing you must know. Even though you possess the Peacekeeper, only a true leader can help you truly defeat the Overlord. And that true leader has been fighting alongside of you for quite some time," Aariv said.

"Who? Celeste?" I asked, turning back to him. But Aariv just gave me another mysterious smile.

"That is for you to find out. Now go," he replied. I was confused by the cryptic riddle that he gave me, but I didn't question it. I just made my way back to the door with the Peacekeeper in hand and my spirits lifted.

**Hiro's perspective**

"Can you pass meh that rock?" Zero Two drunkenly asked me. She had begun constructing a small stone fortress since Max had gone into the tomb and she was almost done with it. I just begrudgingly gave her the stone and she added it to the wall the front wall. Meanwhile, Amki was bouncing a rock off of the walls of the cave, throwing it with enough force that she was able to catch it again before throwing it again, and Celeste was busy sharpening one of her katanas with her sharpening stone. Everyone else was just sitting against the rocks, waiting patiently.

"Zero Two, I get that you're just trying to keep yourself entertained, but why exactly are you building that?" I asked.

"It's our love shack! When it's done, we can make lots of babehs in here!"

"It's only been ten minutes! Plus, we aren't exactly alone in here!"

"No, but we will be when I get this finished," Zero Two said with a big goofy grin on her face. But her grin didn't last long because, without any warning, a rock flew in and knocked over the entire back wall of her "love shack". Zero Two looked down at the destroyed wall for a second before she turned to Amki with an angry face.

"Whoops…" Amki said in a sarcastic tone before she picked up another rock and went back to what she was doing before. Zero Two just stuck her tongue out at her (even though Amki didn't see seem to notice) and she went back to building.

"Y'know, it would've been a lot easier to relax if she hadn't gotten drunk," Rhonda stated.

"Well, I find you a lot easier on mah ears if I kicked yo ass!" Zero Two retorted. That insult set Rhonda off as she took out her revolver and prepared to shoot at her, but Celeste quickly stopped her before she could completely unholster her revolver.

"Relax, Rhonda. That's not her talking. It's her drunkenness," Celeste said. Rhonda just nodded and put away her revolver. As she laid back down, I noticed that Nikki was walking over to sit beside Persephone, who was sitting with her knees close to her face, almost like she was embarrassed to face anyone.

"Hey, I hate to ask, but… what exactly did the Overlord offer you in exchange for getting rid of us?" Nikki asked.

"…Me and my sisters came to Altus looking for work. We didn't have much in terms of money and we heard that they were looking to hire some part time dancers. At first, the job seemed pretty easy and most of our customers were well-behaved, but in time, some of them were really abusive and dangerous and we frequently had to take some days off so I could tend to my sisters' wounds. Of course, no one else cared what happened to us. They just go on with their own business. Eating. Drinking. Dancing. When the Overlord came to me, he promised that, if I helped him, me and my sisters would finally be able to go somewhere nicer than this," Persephone replied.

"I wouldn't put too much trust in his words. Altus' empire was responsible for his suffering and now the planet itself has fallen into depravity. If the Overlord gets what he wants, this planet will be the first one that he destroys," Rhea said.

"OK, as sad as this all sounds, where the hell is Max? If he didn't find the so-called 'weapon', he should've left, not spend hours combing the entire place," Amki said, sitting up.

"We cannot leave this place without the weapon, Amki. Plus, as Hiro said, it's been only ten minutes. Be patient," Eva said. As soon as those words left her mouth, the doors to the tomb began to slowly open again and out of the darkness walked Max. He was clutching the hilt of some kind of sword and had a rip on the left shoulder of his tuxedo. Nikki immediately got up and ran over to him before embracing him.

"Are you OK? You're not hurt, are you?" she asked.

"No, I'm fine," Max replied. Meanwhile, Rhea noticed the hilt that he was carrying, and she took it for a brief while to inspect it.

"Is this it? Is this what we seek?" Rhea asked. Max started to say yes, but he suddenly went completely silent with a blank stare on his face, almost like he was staring at completely nothing.

"Uh… Max? Are you OK, man?" I asked.

"Ooooh, look. His eyes are all shiny…" Zero Two said. Sure enough, when I looked at Max's eyes, I noticed that there WAS something up with them. Instead of the normal green color that they usually were, Max's eyes were a vivid light blue color that seemed to illuminate the area around him. After ten more seconds of blank staring, he closed his eyes in confusion and rubbed his head before he looked back at all of us with a worried look, his eyes back to their normal green color.

"Max, what's wrong?" Nikki asked.

"The Overlord's soldiers. They're here," Max replied as he took the sword hilt back from Rhea and then positioned himself behind one of the rocks.

"Are you certain? How could you tell?" Celeste asked.

"I just do! Trust me!"

"Well, if they're coming, you might need this!" Odango said before she pressed a button on her wrist and Max's shotgun materialized into her arms. After she tossed him the shotgun, my own shotgun materialized into her arms and she threw it to me. Once we were ready, all of us then took up defensive positions around the cavern so we could flank the Overlord's battalion. The first one that entered was wearing black armor with a red visor and red highlights all over the rest of his armor, complete with spiked shoulder pads and spikes along the forearms. Strapped to his back was a combat shotgun similar to mine and he was holding a spear with an energized tip in his right hand. After he entered the cavern and saw that the coast was seemingly clear, he signaled for the other soldiers to follow in behind him. All of them had black armor like the commander did, but their armor was less spiked around their arms.

"Spread out. If they're still in here, they have nowhere to go. You are to make sure that no one gets out of this cavern. Leave the human and his lover alive. Everyone else must be eliminated," the commander said, showing a hologram of both Max and Nikki to one of the soldiers.

"And what of the assassin? What do we do with her?" the soldier asked.

"Kill her as well. She is nothing but a liability now," the commander replied. Persephone began to cry in in fear as Celeste took out her katanas and prepared to attack the closest soldier. Zero Two nearly gave away her position simply by peeking her head out but right as she was about to yell at Celeste, I pulled her back down and covered her mouth with my hand. But, right as the soldier was nearly within range, he noticed a faint glinting on the ground that I also noticed. It was a small knife. I thought at first that someone had accidently dropped it and had given away part of our team's position. But, when the soldier went to inspect the knife, Ayano silently emerged from her hiding spot and plunged a second knife into the soldier's helmet. I thought at first that the knife didn't go all the way through the thick armored helmet, but I saw that the soldier was bleeding profusely from where Ayano had stabbed and he then slumped lifelessly to the ground. The others soldiers immediately noticed Ayano crazily stabbing the soldier she brought down and they aimed their weapons at her, but before they could get even one shot off, Max, Nikki, Eva, and Rhonda aimed their own weapons at the soldiers before firing, landing a few direct hits on the soldiers at the front. Celeste snuck in from behind and decapitated two more of the soldiers at the front before she scraped the top of one of her katanas with the blade of the other, which created a ball of energy that she then launched at some more of the soldiers, setting them ablaze. Amki followed that up by throwing a giant boulder which some of the soldiers had to dodge. But even with our relentless assault, the soldiers didn't back down and the room soon became overcome with blaster bolts and shotgun blasts flying all over the room. As I was patiently waiting for an opening so I could fire a sticky bomb, Zero Two blankly stared up at the blaster bolts firing over our heads.

"What's up with da fireworkz?" she asked.

"They're not fireworks! Keep your head down!" I yelled as I fired a sticky bomb near a cluster of soldiers that were grouped together. The explosion knocked them aside, but it didn't really kill anyone, and the soldiers began to return fire as I took shelter behind the rock again.

"I guess that makes sense… But how come they're firin' the fireworks at us? Shouldn't they be firin' them at the ceilin'? Also, we're in a cavern. If they want other people to see the fireworks, they shoulda taken 'em outside…"

"OK, look, I can't talk about this with you right now! You wanna ask them why they have fireworks in here? Be my guest! But, for now, just stay down there and shut up!" I yelled. Zero Two just gave me a confused look in response, but she did as she was told and stayed where she was as I prepared to fire another sticky bomb at the Overlord's soldiers. But when I emerged from my hiding spot to shoot, a stray blaster bolt grazed my cheek and made me fall back behind my hiding spot.

"OW! OK, ow, that smarts!" I said as I held my cheek. It was only a scratch, but it hurt like hell. However, when I looked back at Zero Two, she had a look of absolute horror and disgust and she immediately grabbed my face without any warning.

"They shot your beautiful face?! THEY SHOT YOUR FACE?!" Zero Two yelled.

"It's just a scratch! It's not a big deal!" I objected. But while Zero Two was busy inspecting my face, one of the soldiers had managed to sneak up behind us and he took aim at both of us. However, Zero Two immediately unholstered one of her pistols and whipped him with the butt of it before she then shot him point blank through the head. Just as another soldier had rounded the corner, Zero Two took out her electro staff and proceeded to beat the soldier to the ground until he was no longer moving before she took a few grenades from his belt.

"Zero Two! Keep your head down or you're gonna get hurt!" I warned as I continued to fire more shots at the soldiers. But Zero Two just continued to fight (even though she was still drunk, and she looked like she was having a bit of trouble keeping her balance) until she angrily stared at the rest of the soldiers that we were fighting.

"These assholes… they ruined your perfect face. It's obviously clear… they don't know… who they're FUCKING WITH!" Zero Two yelled before she pulled the pins of the grenades that she was holding and then threw them at the group of soldiers that were firing at us. The soldiers didn't notice that she had thrown the grenades until it was too late as the blast decimated a whole bunch of them while the rest were knocked aside. However, a couple were unable to get up in time before Selene rushed in, grabbed one of the soldiers with her whip before she snapped his neck, and then killed the other by biting down into his neck with her sharp teeth and ripping out a chunk of his throat. But she soon had to take cover again because another wave of soldiers moved to the front and began raining blasterfire on us. I grabbed Zero Two before she got shot and we both went over to where the rest of the team was just as Rhea created a bunch of ice shards and then threw them at some of the soldiers at the front of the pack. One of them went straight through a soldier's head and into the chest of another before it froze him to one of the rocks that he landed on, creating a sheet of ice that froze some of the other soldiers to the ground and gave Eila an opportunity to attack them with a ball of lightning. However, the commander, who must've had insulated armor, because he was unfazed by the attack and used his spear to shoot a beam of energy that nearly injured Celeste. As he continued to keep us pinned down, a bunch of soldiers began to attach some kind of explosions on the walls of the caves. Max was intrigued by their sudden arrival, but he couldn't stare for long because of the commander still raining fire down on us.

"What are they doing back there?!" Max yelled to Celeste as I fired another stickybomb at the battalion.

"High-grade military explosives! Explosives like that can level an entire city block! I think that they plan to bury us in this cavern!" Celeste replied before Max looked up at the ceiling of the cave.

"And what part of the casino are we under?"

"We're under the main lobby… If those explosions go off, they could kill thousands of innocent people above us…" Persephone said in fear and terror. Max also adopted a look of horror on his own face before he fell below the rock wall that we were hiding behind and then looked down at the sword hilt as sweat began to drip down his forehead. After he sat there in silence for a while, his eyes widened before he got a determined look on his face.

"Tell everyone to get behind me. NOW," Max said. All of us just looked at him like he was crazy, but Celeste just nodded before she turned on the comms.

"Everybody fall back! Stay behind Max and keep a tight formation!" Celeste yelled into her comms. As the rest of the team began to regroup with us, Amki threw another boulder at the battalion before she ran back to us, but the commander simply sliced the rock in half with his spear before he took out his shotgun and fired a stickybomb that destroyed the rock wall that we were all hiding behind. As the dust began to settle, Max stood out in the open with the sword hilt in hand before he activated it and a blue fiery blade sprang forth from the hilt as he stared down the army in front of him, who had strangely stopped firing at us. The commander gave the rest of the soldiers a signal that made them drop their blasters and pull out all sorts of energy melee weapons. Swords, pikes, axes, war hammers, spears, maces. Each of them adopted a battle stance, waiting for the commander to give the signal. As they stood there, ready to fight, Max brought the sword up to his face and closed his eyes, taking deep breaths.

"It is foolish for you to think that you have a chance of survival. Not even that sword can save you. MEN! YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO! SMASH THE HERETICS!" the commander said before he gave the signal to attack to the rest of the squadron. All of them came running at us, shouting a battle cry with their weapons raised high. But, before even one of them could get to us, Max opened his eyes, which were light blue again, and then plunged the blade of the sword into the ground. And what happened next, no mere words could possibly describe it. The second the blade hit the ground, a large wave of fire engulfed the entire area in front of us, the flames so intense that we all had to cover our eyes. But even though the flames were intense, I could still make out the silhouettes of some of the soldiers that were caught in the fire, their armor melting and the flesh burning as the flames burned. After a few minutes, the flames finally died down and Max pulled the sword up from the ground and deactivated the blade as the rest of us took a look around at the damage. The entire area was completely scorched, safe for the crystals that were sitting on the pedestal that we used before. All of the soldiers had become nothing but charred bones and melted armor, along with the dust that used to be their own weapons and the bombs that were once attached to the walls. We were all completely speechless at the carnage that was all around us. Well, except for Zero Two, who had fallen asleep in my arms for some reason.

"OK… that thing is SERIOUS," Amki finally said as Max picked up a piece of charred bone before he threw it back to the ground. Celeste, on the other hand, searched through the rubble behind us until she found one of the teleporter devices that fell off of her belt during the battle.

"We have what we need. We should head back before there's more trouble," she said before she activated the teleporter and we all beamed back to the Centurion.

**Max's perspective**

"Things on Altus are certainly lively when nighttime comes! But tonight, the air has been filled with fear… As of a few hours ago, the streets around The Good Time Club and Casino and several more blocks erupted with fire, causing some of them to collapse and create large cracks in the roads, as you can see behind me. Thankfully, nobody was killed, but many have been injured by the sudden phenomenon and hundreds more are heralding this destruction as the return of the fabled Council of Light, who had once taken up residency on this planet before the fall of the once great Empire of Altus. But is this actually the work of the Council of Light, who had mysteriously vanished after the Empire fell? Or could this be the work of the terrorist that many call the Ov-," a newscaster said on a holographic screen before I turned it off and sat there, rubbing my eyes.

"It appears that our actions are starting to get noticed," Celeste said from behind me.

"Yeah, but I'm starting to wonder if that's actually a good thing. The Overlord keeps sending these soldiers and assassins to try and stop us and innocent people get hurt when we try to help them," I replied.

"Yes… but we should be thankful that there were few who were hurt. Plus, we've finally obtained the one thing that can destroy the Crucible. We're closer to defeating the Overlord than we were before," Rhea said as she placed her hand on my shoulder.

"How are the others?"

"Everyone else is resting right now. I managed to send Persephone and her sisters to a more secure location where they can find more honest work. And they'll be safe from the Overlord or any of his soldiers," Celeste said.

"Hey, I've been meaning to ask… How come you didn't teleport us out of there before the Overlord's soldiers showed up?" Nikki asked as she sat in a chair beside me.

"Unfortunately, the portable teleporters that I have right now have an atrocious recharge time. Whether I teleport a few out of the Centurion to a certain location or teleport a group back onboard the ship, it takes about 25-30 minutes for me to be able to use it again," Celeste replied before I got up from the chair and stretched my arms.

"I think that I'm going to go turn in as well. Wake me up if you figure out where his other lackeys are," I said. But before I could leave the room, Rhea grabbed my arm.

"Max… when you were in there… what did you see?" she asked. I just looked back at her with a distressed look.

"He killed them… the Overlord killed all of them when they refused to help him. But they looked… hurt. Hurt that their own fear of having everything they achieved fall apart if they helped him got in the way of doing what was right…"

"Not using their power just to help one individual was possibly the hardest thing that they had to do…"

"But… there was something else. Aariv's spirit told me that only the hands of a true leader would help me defeat the Overlord."

"…You mean Celeste?"

"He didn't say. He that it's up to me to find out."

"Then it's something that we should worry about tomorrow. We should get as much rest as we can and prepare for what lies ahead," Rhea said. I just nodded and I began to walk toward my room with Nikki following behind me. When we were about halfway there, Nikki grabbed me by the arm and stopped me in my tracks.

"Max, there's something I need to discuss with you," she said. That sentence alone made me cringe as I knew what was coming.

"Nik, I-," I started to say before she cut me off.

"Don't talk. Just listen. I'm not pissed off because you put your hands on another woman just to get information. I'm pissed because you saw that as the ONLY option that you had just to get information from her. I mean, you couldn't let Celeste do it? She was LITERALLY right next to you and she just LET YOU do it yourself! Or how about using a drop of water just to set her off?! Or what about-," Nikki said. But as she was in the middle of her ranting, I drew her in and kissed her just to get her to shut up. I knew that it wouldn't make things better, but I had to get her to stop somehow. After I withdrew from the kiss, Nikki just lowered her head, still angry but much calmer, and then pressed her forehead against my chest.

"Look, you're right. I should've thought of a different way to get information, but time was of the essence and that was the fastest way that I could think of getting it. But you're my girl. You always have been. And nothing will ever get in the way me loving you, even if it was a woman with tight clothing and… too much makeup," I said. I bit my tongue after that because of how stupid my speech sounded but Nikki just gave a slight chuckle and wrapped her arms around me, giving me a warming hug.

"God, you are so silly sometimes. I mean, I'm still a little mad. But… that was very romantic of you," she said before she then wrapped her arms around my neck and we both kissed each other. We were so lost in each other's embrace that we almost didn't hear the door to Hiro's room open. Well, actually, he had just opened the door when we had finished and now everyone was just standing around silently, looking awkward.

"I am so terribly sorry… I'll just come out later…" Hiro said sheepishly as he started to shut the door.

"No, no, no! We were just finishing up! What's wrong? What do you need?" Nikki asked as she tried to stop him from shutting the door.

"Oh, nothing. It's just that Zero Two needs another ice pack for her head."

"So, she's sobered up a bit? How is she?" I asked as me and Nikki looked into the room to find Zero Two sprawled out on the bed with a wet towel over her eyes and forehead.

"Everything hurts… It feels like complete agony is piercing my skull and set everything in my body on fire… And my mouth tastes bitter…" Zero Two said with a dry voice.

"Wait a second… how is she having a hangover if the drink she had was non-alcoholic?" Nikki asked.

"Like I said before, it mimics all the properties of a standard alcoholic drink, all the way down to mimicking the aftereffects of overconsumption," Celeste answered as she was passing us, giving me an ice pack. I wasted no time in putting it on Zero Two's forehead as we all sat down beside her.

"Darling… can we do ourselves a favor and never drink alcohol-like stuff ever again? Like… for the rest of our lives?" Zero Two said as she held the ice pack on her head.

"Actually, if we ever drink alcohol, we'll just limit ourselves to just one for everyone's sake," Nikki said, making me and Hiro laugh.

**3****rd**** person perspective, the Overlord's ship**

The blood splattered on the floor as the Overlord relentlessly hit and clawed the commander, who had extreme burns on his arms where his armor had melted. The pain was unbearable, and it didn't help that no one was trying to stop this onslaught of pain that the Overlord was piling on to the commander. All of his other allies were just sitting around as the Overlord finally tossed the commander at the wall, the blood spilling out of his mouth.

"YOU HAVE FAILED ME! Your directive was to find and dispose of the weapon that was sealed in the tomb! And you failed miserably!" the Overlord snarled as he walked up to the injured commander.

"I am sorry, my lord. We thought that it would be easy to capture the human and dispose of his comrades as well as the weapon, but we had no idea that he would've already have known how to wield the weapon… I swear to you, we will be ready to defeat him the next time that we face him…" the commander coughed as he tried to stand back up. But, before he could fully get off of the ground, the Overlord grabbed him by the neck, digging his claws deep into his flesh.

"Oof… you shouldn't have said that pal…" Philip taunted, earning an angry glare from the Overlord. But it wasn't for very long because he then turned back to the commander and created an ice dagger before pointing it directly at the commander's eye.

"There will not be a next time… Your entire battalion was decimated with complete ease… By a simple human no less. You have clearly shown that you are incapable of handling the simplest of tasks. Your life is forfeit," the Overlord said as he raised the dagger and prepared to strike. But, before he could bring it down on the commander's chest, Info reached out and grabbed the Overlord's arm, preventing him from striking.

"Actually, my lord, I have a different proposal in mind. One that's far better and more… deadly. You see, I have a special project that I'm working on that will create a small handful of genetically modified soldiers. Soldiers that are stronger, swifter, and more deadly than they were before. But, in order to create such soldiers, I need some volunteers. Perhaps this piece of scum would like to enroll?" she said as she pressed a button on a small remote, which made a metallic coffin rose up from the ground before opening, revealing a bunch of tiny arms with various tools on them. The commander immediately began to panic as he tried to get free, but the Overlord's grasp was too strong. For a brief moment, the Overlord was silent as he pondered over what to do. But, without any warning, the Overlord then picked the commander up by his neck and brought him over to the coffin before the cuffs inside locked the commander's arms and legs in place and the Overlord now stood in front of him, looking much calmer than before.

"Do what you will with him," he said to Info, who just gave a sadistic look of glee before she pressed the button on the remote again, which closed up the coffin. The commander could do nothing but scream in fear as a needle injected some kind of red liquid into his arm, which began to turn his pale and a set of horns began to sprout from his head.

And, soon enough, his screams of fear became a terrifying roar of rage.

**To be continued…**


End file.
